How long to intake boots last?

[amontyg]

I took off my carbs this morning for the first time in a couple years and found that the rubber intake boots had gone hard. When I removed the carbs they very easily tore off at the base where they connect to the engine. The thing that seems odd to me is that they are only about 4 years old. Do these generally only get 4-5 years of life, or could something be up with my bike which has caused them to harden more quickly than normal?

Also, since I am now in the market for a new set of carb boots, where is the cheapest place to get them?

[bccap]

What is happening to your rubber is called ozone cracking. Many things contribute to this including, gas fumes, electricity, sunlight, and pollution. My 750e has been sitting in my very dark underground for 28 years. I just went down and removed the grips by peeling them off so they were inside out. Then popped them back into shape. Nice and soft. The following article is a good explanation of ozone cracking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_cracking

[snicrep5]

for my 1100, bike bandit had em for 11 ea. for other models it could be 28.