my hypothesis on this, is, if its seen its share of salt-water, then yeah, think it plays a role in the deteriation of the lines. Seems, only alternative is the 1/4in fuel line from auto parts store
Brother-in-law, has a 98GS original owner, never replaced the lines, never rebuilt the carb/s, in fact, never did anything to it, except add fuel and oil, and damn thing still rips, granted, uses around 25hr-ish a yr....go figure