Thanks NC.
Ive already done that a couple of times (by forgetting to turn the valve on) & it didnt change anything. Also the carb is level.
I wouldnt have thought it would need a different size jet right from get go, would it?
I cant help wondering about the clutch. You know if I don't let the clutch lever all the way out (hold it in a bit & not fully disengage it) then all the shuddering disappears. Of course Ive only only tried that a couple of times because I can tell the motor is not fully engaging & I don't want to wreck the clutch. But it made me wonder.
When you are pulling the clutch in a little bit you are letting it slip slightly.... Doing this you can get the bike to roll on its own from a stop (no pedaling) but it is not something you really want to do. The gearing on the motor is not setup to have the low speed pull to get you going from a stop, so you have to burn up the clutch while rev'ing the engine to do so, which is not good to do. You should pedal to get rolling and then ease out the clutch all the way to ride. I think you have this part figured out by now....
Similarly, when your motor is running rough and your ride is jerky, pulling in the clutch a bit will let it slip ever so slightly and will smooth out the ride, but this is not proper either. Keep in mind, the motors sprocket is chained directly to your wheel, if the motor is not turning smoothly the ride is gonna be rough! These motors tend to smooth out at around 15-20MPH even when not tuned up that great, but tend to run rough at slower RPMs if the tuning is a bit off...
Now, when you are talking about tuning a 2-stroke there are LOTS of variables.... Fuel mix, dampering factors of the intake (air filter) and expansion chamber (exhaust), carburetor adjustment, even environmental variables such as sea level, barometric pressure, temperature, you name it! LOL I don't mean to make it sound overwhelming, but I don't want to gloss over important variables either...
So back to your bike... I am sure you listen to it run when you ride, you can get a lot from listening... I assume it sounds pretty smooth when riding about 20MPH, does it sound the same when running slow, or does it sound like it is running rougher? I am asking this because you could have other mechanical issues not related to the how the motor is running that make your ride rough at slow speeds, like chain alignment or chain tensioner issues etc. If the motor sounds like it is running rough when the ride is rough, getting pops instead of the purr, then you probably need to tune it up a bit before it will run smoothly....
Most builds require the carb to be a bit off level, if yours is right on that is great, you probably don't need to do any float adjustment...
On a single jet carb the only internal adjustment you have (besides the float) is the needle setting and jet size. It is entirely possible that your jet is not ideally sized on a brand new kit depending on the size of the motor, what carb etc. I have read some people with 48cc motors say they need to lean their jets a bit, I had to richen mine on my 66cc (CNS carb).....
Before you start thinking about jetting your carb you should break in your motor completely and get off the breakin fuel on to a regular mix, then you need to identify the condition your engine is running with in your problem range (lean or rich) and make proper adjustments from there.....