Penn SSV sticky bail

[ChesapeakeTackle]

Hey gang.

I recently picked up new Penn SSV4500 & 6500's. Awesome feel and they work well. One thing I noticed is that on both reels, the bail is a bit sticky. What I mean is that after the cast, the bails are tough to close by cranking the handle alone. Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any recommendations for a fix? I reached out to Penn and unfortunately, they have not responded to me.

Thanks!

[Benni3]

All my new pfluegers reels do that until there broke in,,,, i manually flip the bail at first

[handi2]

They have a thick rubber friction plate. It is recommended to close them by hand. It will always be stiff when reeling it to close the bail.