Field repair? Why not a field upgrade?

A few days ago my friend Bruce stopped by our place on his impeccably prepared Suzuki DR650 while out on a day ride through the desert. While we had lunch, he turned off the fuel petcock to the DR650's single carburetor—standard procedure on a carb-equipped bike. When he turned the fuel back on, the six-inch length of fuel line ruptured with an audible pop. It appeared the black plastic fuel tank was not venting properly and had built up internal pressure sitting in the sun. When the pressure was released into the fuel line it gave way.

Bruce was prepared. Not only did he have a spare length of fuel line with him, it was the superior type with a braided fabric sheath, which helps protect the line from damage and UV exposure (augmenting the nice wire wrap supplied by the factory), and looks better to boot. In five minutes we had repaired the break and given the Suzuki an upgrade. The only remaining to-do item when Bruce got home was to replace the slightly oversize hose clamps from the spares kit.