Motorcycle Repair: honda shadow missing, honda shadow, intake manifolds

Question
Falcon-
    I have a Honda Shadow.  In neutral at high RPM's everything sounds good.  When I put it into gear and give it gas it consistantly misses.  I changed spark plugs which did not help.  What should I try next?

Thanks.

Answer
Hi Kolby.
 Under load, an engine operates quite differently from an engine that is just running.  At any rpm.  What you may have is a problem with synchronization, or valve timing, or ignition timing, or a combination of a couple or all of those things.

Does it seem to smooth out when the bike is up to speed and no longer accellerating?  If it is, then the problem is likely synchronization and timing.

 Many bikes have the timing set up so that it corrects itself as the carbs are synchronized, while others are set up to have the synchro done separately from the timing.
 Your repair manual will tell you which is the case with your bike as well as the proper proceedure to correct it.

You may also want to check and be sure that the intake manifolds are tight to the intakes and the manifolds are also tight to the carbs.

Start with that and let me know what happens.
Good luck.
FALCON