It turned out it wasn't a leak from the carb/manifold (no discernible change, still ran lean & runaway idle when warmed up) but I've since replaced my crankcase seals under the magneto & clutch cover, it runs better now. They didn't leak oil or look bad, but I don't have a microscope to see if it was a micro-tear. Now I have to track down a short in my tail light. (Sometimes it works, sometimes it flickers or won't work at all). I don't wanna get hassled by "The Man" over something trivial.
It's been months since I tried the intake hose adaptation & so far so good. I did have to use a bit of grease to shove the intake into the carb "hose". It is a tight fit. If it has ingested any rubber, it hasn't 'complained' or given me problems. I did it last fall, but I haven't ridden it much since then, I wanted to fix the air leak before giving it much use, I don't wanna melt a piston. Money has been tight over the winter and what spare cash I've had on hand was spent on other things like bills, food, etc. Now that it's springtime & money is flowing a bit more, I'm back to getting my bike running decent.
Rusty, I understand your concern about the fuel vapor issue, seeing how the hose was not designed to carry fuel, but hot coolant. So far I have not had any problems with it, but then again, it's been maybe a dozen miles clocked on it since then, so I can't say definitively that it is goof-proof. If the gasoline does eat the rubber, it has to eat through a considerable amount before it can leak, seeing how tiny the original o-ring was compared to the length & thickness of hose I'm currently using now.
Remember, the primary ingredient of automotive coolant is ethylene glycol, which is a derivative of a long chain alcohol molecule. Consider again most times auto coolant is about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. If it can withstand all that, I feel confidant that the tiny amount of rubber exposed to gas vapors is minimal compared to what it was designed for.
