i went up this past weekend to black lake,michigan-(the absolute best trails in far northern michigan)and broke my kickstart as soon as we arrived,it snapped on the round opening down where it pivots and sits on the boss,i took it over to the local welder($10.00 very fair) and he aluminum welded it but after reinstalling it the weld snapped after the first light kick.i ended up having my buddies push start me and was able to ride all weekend,i also noticed the boss had about 1/4 of the teeth worn away.the boss is about $45.00 and the complete boss and kicklever are $102.00 .i know i can buy a used unit off ebay but i think i would have another problem come sometime.i plan on having a billet aluminum kickstart made and rework the way it slides over the boss unlike the allen wrench set screw and spring and maybe drill through the boss and put a bolt and nut in place.i couldnt find a topic on this and would like to know if anyone has an answer or idea to redoing and making the kx500 kickstart better and longer lasting.i have friends who work at machine shops and can make one.