Where can I buy vacuum hose?

[sinaptik]

I'm trying to find a short length of vacuum hose (5-ish cm) for my KLE500. I'd hope that vacuum hose isn't too model-dependant (my vacuum hose has a red stripe, weeeee), but I think I can't just use any old length of hose because it has to, you know, be able to hold a vacuum.

Where can I get some?!

[Dragon]

Repco do a redline range

I like the thick sidewall stuff :) never had any issues with it

you can also get it from trademe or road and track

whats it off?

[sinaptik]

whats it off?

Kawasaki KLE500

Thanks for the info. Might try take it off the bike and take it in to get exactly what I need.

[Katman]

Get any hose, stick your finger over one end, stick the other end in your mouth and suck.

If the hose doesn't collapse, you've found yourself some vacuum hose.

[imdying]

Yeah, nahhhhhh. If you can suck down 29" worth of vac on any hose, I'll move to wherever you are and pimp you in a brothel. Slice a piece of vac hose open and you'll see the reinforcing.

Go to any boy racer shop and you'll find it in various sizes.

[Katman]

Yeah, nahhhhhh. If you can suck down 29" worth of vac on any hose, I'll move to wherever you are and pimp you in a brothel. Slice a piece of vac hose open and you'll see the reinforcing.


Do you actually read the posts you reply to?

[hayd3n]

all my vaccum hoses are just shitty little rubber ones,
no reinforcing

[imdying]

Do you actually read the posts you reply to?More than you apparently!

[Katman]

What I was inferring was that if you can't collapse a hose by sucking on it, it is not likely to collapse under manifold vacuum.

[imdying]

What I was inferring was that if you can't collapse a hose by sucking on it, it is not likely to collapse under manifold vacuum.I know, and I was saying that is incorrect. Just because you can't suck it in, doesn't mean that with manifold vac on it, air pressure won't collapse the hose. The amount of vac you can generate with your mouth is minimal, the inside of the hose will still be well close enough to atmospheric pressure (that and the inherit sidewall strength of a round hose) to prevent it from collapsing. One way to demonstrate that in the real world would be to suck on the back of your hand, and then use a vac pump to do it. One will leave a welt, the other will not. You either need a hose that is reinforced (vac or air brake hose), or has a sidewall thick enough not to deform (some coloured silicone racer hose). My thought would be to buy something that is definitely rated for vacuum, as there seems to be little point in using some random hose that might introduce odd behaviour in the running of the bike after it starts to degrade. Diagnostic headaches like that nobody needs.

[Yow Ling]

If we are talking about the vacum hose that goes to the fuel tap to turn the petrol off or on I would go with Katman on this.
I dont think we are talking about the vacum brake lines here.

[imdying]

If there was a difference in price or availability then the decision might be harder, but given there is not, I can see no reason not to use a correctly rated piece of hose, but YMMV.

[Katman]

If there was a difference in price or availability then the decision might be harder, but given there is not, I can see no reason not to use a correctly rated piece of hose, but YMMV.

How many inches of mercury do you think the average bike's manifold vacuum produces?

[imdying]

How many inches of mercury do you think the average bike's manifold vacuum produces?Irrelevant, far more important in context is how does that compare with a humans ability to generate a vacuum.

[Katman]

And besides, if you think about it, even if the hose collapses, it's still holding vacuum.

[Katman]

Irrelevant, far more important in context is how does that compare with a humans ability to generate a vacuum.

I just checked by sucking on the unreinforced rubber hoses on my vacuum gauges.

I got to 20 inches before it started hurting my tongue.

[imdying]

Which is not a lot of use if it blocks itself off and fails to pass that vacuum along the line. One example of that is using random plastic hose for vacing down composite parts in bags... not only does it need to be vac hose for any sort of consistently, but it also needs to be resistant to the resin fumes.

[Katman]

Which is not a lot of use if it blocks itself off and fails to pass that vacuum along the line. One example of that is using random plastic hose for vacing down composite parts in bags... not only does it need to be vac hose for any sort of consistently, but it also needs to be resistant to the resin fumes.

How much vacuum do you think it takes to open a fuel tap?

[imdying]

How much vacuum do you think it takes to open a fuel tap?I'm not sure why you keep asking generic questions with no answer. I'm also not sure why you'd do a half arsed job instead of just doing it the right way, but I guess that's the Kiwi way... and probably some of the reason bike shops are going out of business and nobody cares.

[HenryDorsetCase]

just nick it off your Mums vacuum cleaner.

[sinaptik]

According to a figure that I read somewhere, on my bike when the engine is on a vacuum of 3cc worth of air is generated.

Does that help you guys argue? :P

[Katman]

I'm not sure why you keep asking generic questions with no answer. I'm also not sure why you'd do a half arsed job instead of just doing it the right way, but I guess that's the Kiwi way... and probably some of the reason bike shops are going out of business and nobody cares.

Believe me, I'm far from going out of business.

What customers don't like is someone bullshitting them that only a NASA approved product will do the job when in actual fact the problem can be quite adequately solved far more easily and conveniently.

[imdying]

Believe me, I'm far from going out of business.

What customers don't like is someone bullshitting them that only a NASA approved product will do the job when in actual fact the problem can be quite adequately solved far more easily and conveniently.

I agree with that, and I do accept that some pragmatism should always be used. However I do also think you should try to use a suitable product if one is available at negligible cost. To me this is no different to scummy recommending any old piece of hose for a brake reservoir last week... why would you not use a hose actually rated for that? It's cheap and easy to get, I don't see why you'd go about making life harder for yourself.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I got to 20 inches before it started hurting my tongue.

said LInda Lovelace.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I agree with that, and I do accept that some pragmatism should always be used. However I do also think you should try to use a suitable product if one is available at negligible cost. To me this is no different to scummy recommending any old piece of hose for a brake reservoir last week... why would you not use a hose actually rated for that? It's cheap and easy to get, I don't see why you'd go about making life harder for yourself.

which reminds me I must touch you up for some of that proper stuff.