Motorcycle Repair: 2001 harley 883, harley 883, exhaust pipes

Question
QUESTION: This bike belongs to a friend who bought it new. The bike has 600 miles on it. My friend is a Katrina casualty and the bike has sat since the storm. I changed all the fluids, rebuilt the carb and the the bike fired right up. The problem is that it has a loud spinning noise when put in neutral. It does seem to be coming from the primary area. It seems to quiet down when in gear but I can hear it when I wind it out. It sounds like two metal parts spinning against each other. It does shift fine and I've made all the adjustments.

ANSWER: Was the motor under water and if it was how long?
Mike

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes Mike, I guess I'm in denial about that. Water did come up too the axles and since the exhaust pipes are lower than the axles I'm sure water was pushed up the pipe. The answer is yes. Not totally immersed but yes. What do you think.

Answer
I think what you are going to have to do is pull the motor and tear it down. You probably have a bearing that has gone bad from the water. The problem right now is which one. If the motor sat in water for a while its really hard on bearings.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike