Ok, to start im not much of a Harley rider or have great knowledge of motorcycles. I've had a job that has kept me away from home for the last year and during that time my 2012 Harley Iron 883 has stayed in my garage for a year straight without being turned on. I just got the chance to work on it a few days ago (someone dropped it at some point). I changed the shift lever and peg, engine oil, derby cover, primary fluid and battery. Now before I changed anything except for the battery I turned it on (to see if it would turn over) and it fired up fine and sounded normal. Since the derby cover had a hole in it I didnt drive it other than putting it in first and going back and forth in the garage. After I turned it off I changed the parts i mentioned earlier and everything seemed to go fine except now there is a loud whining noise from the primary. I didnt change the gasket as it looked new ( I had taken the old derby cover off and reapplied the same old derby cover before changing the new one to make sure it didnt go further than the cover). I also added 2.8 quarts of 20w50 Lucas Motorcycle oil in the engine and a little over 1 quart in the primary. Initially added 1 quart made the whining noise so i added about 5 oz more still makes the noise. Any help?

 

First thing, your oil level in the primary should be just at the bottom teeth of the clutch diaphragm spring. Second thing, if by whining noise you mean it sounds like a sewing machine, that's normal. Sportsters are noisy. Did you check your primary chain tension?

 

I havent checked tension because when i initially started the bike (on originial fluid) it was quite. I literally didnt ride it anywhere except back and forth at 3 miles per hour then turned it off changed the fluid then the whining began. Something with the fluid change had to have something to do with the noise. Im not exactly sure what a sewing machine sounds like cause i havent had one in my house since i was a child but its significantly louder

 

Since you said the original cover had a hole in it, did a piece of it drop into the tranny? Or maybe something else?

 

No it had a hole but was all one piece, also like i said i started the bike with the original derby cover with the hole in it and it sounded fine. After i replaced the fluid and put a new derby cover on it is when the noise started

 

Could just be the primary needs adjusting but...

You say someone dropped your bike. Sounds like it suffered a lot of damage for a bike that was knocked over. I have knocked over a few bikes over the years and have never needed to replace a peg and shifter afterwards, not to mention the hole in the derby cover. This new noise could be related to whatever really happened to your bike while you were gone.

 

Possibly but like i said after i put a battery in it i turned it on let it run for 15 mins and it sounded just fine like normal in neutral and first.

 

maybe you took out more fluid than you put in and a bearing is not lubed.
does the sound go away when you pull in the clutch. It could be an overtight chain.
same oil or different?

 

Pretty possitive its different oil im using lucas 20w50 motorcycle oil. But the noise remains in neutral and first and actually whines louder when pulling the throttle. Stays when you pull in the throttle

 

Huh? pulling throttle.

different oil as in different brand and weight? don't care what you use, but suppose since your sound started AFTER? just saying