Your bike has all straight cut gears. if you listen carefully, they are going to make a whine doing what you describe. They probably are doing the same thing accelerating but you can't here it since the exhaust noise is louder.

One really good example is the reverse gear in the bevel cut geared car transmissions. The reverse is straight cut, even in a lot of automatic transmissions. It whines when you back up from using that gear geometry. However, it's strong and requires no side thrust bearings. The older 5 speeds are a lot tougher than the newer 6 speeds in Harleys.
Your statement runs and idles like a champ is all that is important here. Actually, brakes are cheaper than using transmission as a brake. Just as you slow down also downshift, so you are ready to go. Just as safe done right.

 

RIPSAW, I always rely on you chiming in to answer the crys of the HOG greenees.
A most frequent concern with new to HD is usually noise related LOL. Been there. I've been using ear plugs goin on two years now. Much better.

 

Back when I was 16, I sort of enjoyed all those different sounds she made my first time. These young whippersnappers just don't get it.

 

I whine when people decelerate in front of me, does that count?

 

yeah brother. If they aint makin noise. You aint doin it right LOL

 

Ok, not exactly a thread hijack but a piggyback. I need help with the same thing. My 2011 RGU has always done something similar and I always believed it was perfectly normal but yesterday it all of a sudden got louder. By way of background, I tore down the primary on Friday in order to replace my shift lever and shaft seal. I rode it about 100 miles yesterday before I started noticing that whining noise had gotten a good bit louder than normal. It's definitely not gear whine because it changes pitch with the RPM. It goes away entirely if I put a little load on it and it changes pitch whenever I pull in the clutch to shift gears. I just finished rechecking the fluid level and it's good so I'm thinking either the chain adjuster or the compensator. I checked the chain tension before I removed the tensioner and after I reinstalled it. It was the same in both cases but seemed a little tight to me. Would removing and reinstalling the tensioner cause it to tighten up after riding it 100 miles or so? As for the compensator, I was very careful to torque it down correctly but I used blue loctite and not red loctite on the advice of my local indy. If the compensator nut was coming loose would I not also hear weird noises at idle? There are no knocking noises and no rattles and at idle it sounds real quiet (for a Harley) like it always did? I'm thinking if there was a problem with the compensator it would make noise all the time and not just on deceleration. I ask all these questions because I really don't want to tear back into it if I don't have to.

 

right on. Not only are brakes cheaper, they are a whole lot easier to remove and replace!