I recently purchased my first Venture, a 1986 VR, and just hours after getting her home I couldn't help but take off a few parts to start cleaning. The bike had sat for a couple of years, only running occasionally, so the dust build up was pretty bad.
During the inspection I found that the air box was broken so I'm working of finding a replacement. While I was cleaning and shining today I noticed two small drops of anti freeze under the bike and found a wet spot on the hose between the rad and the thermo housing. Looked like it was on the radiator side at the hose so I started browsing for a new one (Yamaha part # 26H-12578-00-00). All the sites I found stated that part is no longer available.
So my question... Is there a substitute for the hose? I scoured VR.org before posting but couldn't find the solution. Your help is greatly appreciated!