Water hose life?

[CB2DMax]

So how many years will a water hose last on a V-Max? Any suggested intervals for replacing them? I know, one should be safe rather than sorry, and that's why I'm asking the question. When should I change them? I have an '01 Max with 23,000 miles on it. It appears that some of the hoses are very difficult to get to--any tips?

Thanks guys.

 

[Bill Seward]

My hoses have gone 24 years, and a lotta miles. Still look fine, and don't leak. I Armor-All them when I do a wash/wax on the bike, though. Maybe that helped?:confused2:

 

[maleko89]

Mine are 20 years old and are fine. I use a good coolant for aluminum engines so that keeps the inners clean. Riding it often and not having it sit for months helps too.

 

[one2dmax]

Yep, they will last a long time. I do have 2 sets of the Samco silicon sets on hand (one black and one red) if you want to replace the whole set.

Sean

 

[lankeeyankee]

I have all my orginal hoses on Ol FFW....

When I clean my bike part of the detail work is Armorall all the hoses..

I will say that the Japenese rubber is kick ass better then our Dayco and Gates USA rubber.

 

[naughtyG]

I actually have no idea, but believe my '86 still has its original piping too, and it all looks and functions just fine.

So 23 years and 42000 miles on, it's all good.

 

[Bill Seward]

'85, 120K Still good!

 

[gleno]

I have no idea how long the hoses are meant to last so I have just replaced the original hoses on my '88 model to be sure.

The original hoses had begun to swell a little around the house clamps and I've always taken that as a sign that the hose has passed it's 'best buy' date.

When I inspected the old hoses I had replaced they were in good shape. No cracking in the rubber lines (if they are rubber) internally or externally.

The original hoses appear to be top quality. :thumbs up:

I'm wondering whether the Samco silicon hoses I replaced them with will last that long?

I'm pretty sure the original hoses will outlive the motor in most cases.h yeah:

What is worth looking closely at is the condition of the bypass pipes and drain valve assembly. These will corrode and wear out long before the hoses do.