Who's done this? I ordered a scorpion spool and put it in my K. Limited experience with it but can't say I've noticed a huge difference vs the original spool in terms of casting distance. Certainly doesn't feel like my other MGL spools

I've recently added the scorpion spool on two of my K's. I did it mainly to stop wasting line since I usually run mono and switch it out often. I'm a bank fisherman and usually run 8-10lb test so you can imagine how much of it will never touch the water. With that said, before I put the spools in I serviced the reels myself. Tore them completely apart, greased gears, drag washers and decided to replace all bearings instead of flushing them. I usually will soak the bearing in acetone, use a bearing blaster as a last step, one drop of TSI321 and put them back in.  I can have the OEM bearings from Shimano to my door in about 2 days for roughly $35. So they currently cast like an absolute dream, I wouldn't say much further but definitely way less effort. When was the last time you flushed/cleaned/oiled your spool bearings?  

I know you didn't ask for this information but just in case you ever need replacement bearings for your K. These are the part numbers I have been using for years as I own 4 K's, manual calls for a few other part numbers but these save a few bucks and you can even get the spool bearings used on higher end models.

 

10EX8 – Shimano US Fish Shop
$4.30 x2 (BNT3927) Lower pinion/Upper main handle side (Used on Higher end models)

                                Manual calls for BNT5858 x2 @ $11.36

105BP – Shimano US Fish Shop
$4.33 x2 (BNT4194) Lower main handle side, X-ship

                                 Manual calls for BNT4945 @ $7.06 for X-ship 

105C0 - Shimano US Fish Shop

$6.75 x2 (BNT3627) Spool bearings for Antares, Aldebaran, Chronarch (nice upgrade)

                                Manual calls for BNT4343 x2 @ $3.27 

 

6 new OEM bearings for $30.76 plus tax. Almost not worth soaking in acetone and debating how much more life a bearing will have based on a spin test. Especially if you do the work yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Edrod13 said:

I've recently added the scorpion spool on two of my K's. I did it mainly to stop wasting line since I usually run mono and switch it out often. I'm a bank fisherman and usually run 8-10lb test so you can imagine how much of it will never touch the water. With that said, before I put the spools in I serviced the reels myself. Tore them completely apart, greased gears, drag washers and decided to replace all bearings instead of flushing them. I usually will soak the bearing in acetone, use a bearing blaster as a last step, one drop of TSI321 and put them back in.  I can have the OEM bearings from Shimano to my door in about 2 days for roughly $35. So they currently cast like an absolute dream, I wouldn't say much further but definitely way less effort. When was the last time you flushed/cleaned/oiled your spool bearings?  

I clean all my reels pretty regularly. Full breakdown and do all the things you mentioned. I'm not 100% sure when but definitely in the last 6-8 months on this one

I've done it to my K. For 1/2 oz and up lures, I didn't notice much difference, but for light lures like 3/8 jerkbaits, I did find it casts more easily and further. I use braided line as backing for both spools.

 

Not all MGL spools are same. IMO this one excels mostly in lighter lures.

5 hours ago, newapti5 said:

I've done it to my K. For 1/2 oz and up lures, I didn't notice much difference, but for light lures like 3/8 jerkbaits, I did find it casts more easily and further. I use braided line as backing for both spools.

 

Not all MGL spools are same. IMO this one excels mostly in lighter lures.

Hmm. Interesting. I haven't thrown much light stuff. I'll have to try it out

The original spool from K is already an excellent spool for heavy lures, so I don't expect much improvement with the MGL spool, but for lighter lures, the casting difference is noticable in my experience.