I have a bit of recent experience with coolant
hoses. In fact, the entire Billy Bones saga is related to coolant components.

I purchased Billy back in the fall.
When I got him he was leaking from several places,
and so I simply replaced several hoses.  Then
another one ruptured, then another.  Finally, on
my way back to Oklahoma from North Carolina, at
3:30 am I ruptured that S-shaped hose on the right
head, overheated the engine and got stranded in
middle Tennesses.  After several days, I got the
bus to my sister's home near Nashville.  A couple
of more days passed before I finally borrowed a car and drove on to Oklahoma.  Two weeks later I
talked a friend of mine into driving the 700
miles to Tennesses to fetch my bus.  Now I've
installeld a new engine (and EVERY dang coolant
component there is that I could find!).

Moral of the story.  I would be happy to go back in
time several months and pay $500 for hoses.  That
would be cheap compared to the thousands of
dollars and countless hours I've spent laboring
under Billy Bones for the past several months.

Warren Lail
88 Westy "Billy Bones"
87 GL "Long John"