OK so i have an 01 KLR with 22k on it. Recently it has started to make an awful grinding/crunching noise while accelerating. This noise only seems to be happening during fist and second gear, but that may just be due wind noise after that. At first i thought it may have just been a slightly over tightened chain. So I laxed the chain a bit and lubed her up good. Seemed to cure my noise.. for a while anyway. The other day i got it out of the shop and let her warm up. As soon as i started to take off i heard that horrible noise.. That was the end of that trip. After a short time staring at it, i had magically forgotten what the sound was like and wanted to reenact it so pulled her out and road it around for a short time on the property.. no noise for about 3-4 mins..then there it was.  So in theory this seems to be as the bike warms up.... Havent checked yet but the last time i changed my oil, 250miles ago, i vaguely remember a minimal amount of metal shavings.. idk if metal or aluminum. ANY thoughts if this would be DOO or clutch related. NO DOO has not been done previously and shifting has always been smooth 1-5.

As a side note the noise really starts when letting the clutch out. Makes me lean towards the clutch but with all the jibber jabber about the DOO just makes me wonder

could be clutch from the sounds of it but the KLR unit is pretty robust & I wouldn't normally expect problems with "only" 22k miles. The doo on the other hand is a terrible piece of crap that is both pooly designed and poorly built. I have changed over 3 dozen and at least half had something wrong. The lowest mile one was an 04 with 1100 miles. The first one I did was my new 05 with a couple thousand on it & less than 6 months old & had been broken for a while when I pulled it. I've seen some mid/late 90s bikes with high miles that weren't broken too though. I've also seen a couple that came apart & demolished the engine.... the broken bits get cought in either the cam or balancer chain & sieze the works.

you can pull off the outer cover on the left side real easy & see if the spring is still there. you can't see the lever without a borescope  unless you pull the rotor but you can feel it if you know where it is. I would bet money it's broken just based on how many I have seen.

P.S. when I first started doing local KLR tech days I was 9 of 15.... thats 9 bad of the first 15 checked. I lost count after that, partly because I did a string of nearly new bikes that were good. the Gen II lever on 08 and newer bikes is a better part but it fits loose on the shaft, which means all that stuff can still move around & vibrate a bit. the new spring is too long and runs out of adjustment in a couple thousand miles.

So,I changed mine out at 42,000miles.I used the Eagle Mike parts(The Best),This can be a double edged sword though,
The new doo and spring pulls all the slack from the balancer chain,but the balancer gears have worn,allowing the chain to contact the top of the bolt boss inside the case,so,Now Ive got to replace the balancer sprockets,or grind clearance for the chain,I should of left it alone,but so many kept saying check the doo,they didnt say when I changed it,Id have to rebuild the whole set up.but thats where Im at with it,Ive taken a test ride and it seems ok,but every now and then I can hear the chain making contact,and I just cant ride it with out thinking the problem could cost me a whole engine rebuild.and the sprockets are not cheap,Ones 59$,and the other is 62$,I may just break out the dremel tool,and clearance the chain,and ride it another 40,000 miles.but that means taking the cover back off,draining the new oil I just put in,and so on,  Oh well.

sorry... that dosen't make sense... how does installing a new part make the chain looser? it's just worn out... replace it. the gears may be ok, but the chain has to go. there is two chain guides too, but I prolly wouldn't worry about them unless the took a beating. you can change a doo or replace all that stuff without draining the oil by flopping the bike over on it's right side on to a stack of tires, etc. the only thing you have to watch for is the woodruff key in the rotor... it can pop off and fall into the oil return area in the bottom of the case.

I have fixed one where the doo and the chain broke... it can make a mess...  and I couldn't fix another because to also broke the case