Someone educate me about centrifugal clutches..

[hooligan machinist]

My sons chopper will barely pull itself out of it's own tracks.
It's only 50cc's but it should at least be able to move with him on it.



I've never messed with a centrifugal clutch at all.
Are they adjustable or should i just replace it?

[aaronb]

that thing prolly just has a few shoes being held back by springs inside of a drum.  you could replace the springs i suppose.  but i would start by tearing it down and inspecting.  the shoes may be glazed or just worn out. 

[ellingly]

You can often adjust the tension on the front to make it pick up better or worse. But, yes, a teardown is usually called for - as they slip a lot they tend to kill plates pretty quickly.

I'll find the workshop manual for my Honda CT110 and cut out the relevant bits on adjusting the clutch pickup point. The clutches used in a lot of those small bikes are pretty much identical; they're fantastic Chinese ripoffs of a venerable Honda product!

[hooligan machinist]

  Well, i made some progress with it today.
You were correct aaronb, there are 2 shoes inside a drum. The only thing i could find that looked like a problem was the spring. It was so tight i could barely pry the shoes apart with a good sized screw driver. I managed to stretch it a little and put everything back together.
  It does pull harder and engage sooner. But it's still too weak to actually ride, except downhill.
I think i'm gonna trade it in. The local honda dealer has nice little (i think) 100cc dirt bike with training wheels that he can't stay off of when we're there.