First Gear engagement - ATC 110

[greenhuman]

Take the rubber cap off the clutch cover. With a screwdriver in the lot, loosen off the 14mm nut with ring spanner.
with the ring spanner still on the nut, turn the slotted center screw to the left till it just get tight then back it off to the right 1/8 of a turn. Tighten the 14mm nut while the screw driver holds the screw in place. Thats it.
I think you will find the center screw on your clutch cover is out of adjustment(no free play)

[DogMan]

I'm not quite understanding what you typed here. Are you saying the trike won't move when put into first gear? Or are you saying the trike creeps forward in first gear at an idle? If the trike is in gear, there is no reason that it shouldn't move forward in gear. If it was a car, then it would stall if you put it in gear. These trikes aren't an automatic like a car. Just that your foot operates your clutch instead of your hand and a lever and cable. Now if the trike isn't moving that could be lots of problems. A dragging rear brake, bad wheel bearings and a crappy rear chain will help keep your trike from moving. You could be motoring around on the trikes original clutch fibers and steel plates which may be well worn. Clutch springs wear out and lose strength. If you changed to a modern synthetic oil, this often kills the clutch fibers as the oil is really too slippery for the old clutch fibers. Most trike clutch fibers aren't made to work with modern synthetic oils. I've seen it happen too many times. So it could be a number or things either way, but please make your original question a little easier to understand.

Mr. Monkey:
This is quoted from my original post:
"So the question: in idle, when I engage first gear from neutral, the trike begins moving forward without throttle. Is this normal? In contrast, my kid's dirt bike with auto-clutch (Yamaha PW-80) just idles in first gear, and will only roll forward with throttle applied. In other words, the trike will not stop moving in gear, only in neutral."

Yes the trike moves in gear, without any throttle applied, just idle speed. Just like a car, actually. But my kid's Yamaha PW80 requires throttle to be applied before it will move after already being placed in first gear.

Also, I use only wet-clutch compatible dino oil in the trike, no synthetic. But I probably do need to replace the clutch parts anyway, as they are most likely original.

[DogMan]

Take the rubber cap off the clutch cover. With a screwdriver in the lot, loosen off the 14mm nut with ring spanner.
with the ring spanner still on the nut, turn the slotted center screw to the left till it just get tight then back it off to the right 1/8 of a turn. Tighten the 14mm nut while the screw driver holds the screw in place. Thats it.
I think you will find the center screw on your clutch cover is out of adjustment(no free play)

Thanks for the tip, but as mentioned in my original post, I have done this exact adjustment twice (just to be sure...).

[Vealmonkey]

Thank you for clearing that up as I didn't really understand. The trike should move when it's in gear. IF it didn't move in gear, then I would say you had problems. If you held your foot up or down on the shift lever depending on which gear you were putting the trike in, then it would be like holding the clutch lever in. As soon as you let foot pressure off of your shift lever, then you have essentially let out on the clutch lever. The trike is acting as it should by moving while in gear.

[riverrat]

Thank you for clearing that up as I didn't really understand. The trike should move when it's in gear. IF it didn't move in gear, then I would say you had problems. If you held your foot up or down on the shift lever depending on which gear you were putting the trike in, then it would be like holding the clutch lever in. As soon as you let foot pressure off of your shift lever, then you have essentially let out on the clutch lever. The trike is acting as it should by moving while in gear.

Your foot operates the clutch????

Veal, a centrifugal clutch on a 110 has no connection to the gear shift whatsoever. Furthermore, holding the gear shift lever up means nothing, in relation to the clutch. It does not matter what gear the trike is in, the clutch should not be engaged until a certain rpm is attained. If you are in 1st gear at an idle, there should be no movement of the trike. Matter fact, any centrifugal clutch should not be engaged at an idle. If it is, then there is something wrong.

[Vealmonkey]

There is no centrifugal clutch on a 110 that I'm aware of?

[fabiodriven]

To Vealmonkey- My 110 doesn't move when idling in gear and if his is doing that there is a problem.

To Riverrat- The 110 doesn't have the separate centrifugal clutch set up like the Tri-Motos and some of the other ATC's. It's just one unit and after replacing the clutch in mine I still didn't understand how it worked. The shift lever is absolutely connected to the clutch and if you hold the lever either up or down it disengages the clutch.

[Vealmonkey]

See fabio, They are trying to confuse me! LOL

[riverrat]

There is no centrifugal clutch on a 110 that I'm aware of?

I just studied the manual a bit and....
I think we are both right. I was always under the impression that it was a centrifugal clutch, like one you would find on a mini-bike. It is not like that. However, it is still a centrifugal clutch. The centrifugal operates the pressure plates. It is like having an automatic clutch lever.
The shift lever, I guess, does override the centrifugal clutch mechanism, and disengage the clutch. As it appears to be attached to it.
The manual is pretty vague, and I am sort of guessing at this a bit.
Still, I've owned my 110 for 20+ years, and it does not roll in first gear with no throttle applied. But I've always noticed how free it gets when depressing, or lifting up the shift lever, and often wondered about that. I thought it might have been in the transmission somehow, not the clutch itself.
I'm always learning....

I am pretty shocked at how robust the clutch is. It is more like a clutch on the bigger bikes, and makes me feel better about doing "clutch drops" to get a wheely going, or in a drag race. Seems like it could take it, even though I rarely did it. I always wondered how I never wiped my clutch out yet.

Knowing all this, may have answered another question for me. When I try to put my 110 in gear, and hit the throttle, sometimes it does not engage the gear. Sometimes coasting, it will come out of gear too. Whenever I drive it aggressive, everything works fine, but if I drive it soft, it seems to not always work right. Not sure if my shift forks are worn, or maybe my clutch needs adjusting. I am going to try and adjust the clutch first and see if that makes it better.

[riverrat]

I also reserve the right to be wrong about it being centrifugal. After looking at it further, it might just be the twisting force of the engine, against the clutch springs that engages the clutches, but that would only be a one way action, and the 110 clearly stays engaged when going down hill "off the throttle" i.e. engine braking.

[greenhuman]

The trike should not roll in gear at idle. There are bob-weights under the plates which push on the clutch pack and springs as the revs increase other wise it should sit there not moving just like a manual clutched trike with the clutch lever pulled in.
To handle the extra HP of a 110 over a 90 for example, Honda put in beefier clutch springs. There are seven bob-weights in a standard auto clutch. With my old 300cc + 90's, I used to mod the clutch to take 10 bob-weights and use extra heavy duty springs and the clutches held up fine.

[riverrat]

Those "bob weights" work from centrifugal force?


Also, please explain your 300cc 90?

[greenhuman]

.They work very similar to modern lock up clutches. The bob-weights have an off set hole that allows them to have no pressure on the clutch pack at idle and when the engine revs increase the weights change position by centifugal force and apply pressure to the plates which push against the springs and bingo, off you go.
The 310cc 90 engines had Honda XL175 top ends grafted to 90 cases.

[shortline10]

Could possibly be 1 broken/weak clutch spring causing it to drag a bit . Need to pull the clutch cover and rebuild the clutch .

[3wheeledjunkie]

Before you tear into the little dude. Adjust the clutch first. This happens alot on the newer units we service, people try to adjust it and get it too tight, causing it to creep. Try that first before replacing parts. Loosen nut turn center screw both ways about a half turn to make sure everything is loose, then turn counter-clockwise till you feel resistance (and don't stop the first little bit of drag you feel, turn until you can't anymore) then turn back clockwise a 1/4 turn, tighten nut while holding the screw solid. See if that helps.