radiator hoses

Has anyone noticed a smell of burning rubber .. only when stuck in traffic .. no, no, not burning tyre rubber.
I'm suspecting a radiator hose, particularly the one that's closest to the crankcase. This would seem to be a design fault, rubber hoses should not be that close to a engine. I know the manual says to inspect it every 6000 km, but I somehow doubt that these items are thoroughly checked during servicing ... I'm just worried it will fail at the wrong time wrong place.
I'm coming up for my 12000 km service and I'll report it to the mechanic and see what he thinks.

Would silicone hoses be better in this situation ?

i havnt smelt anything. if i do ill let you know. interesting though. must check that out next time i visit my garage

I have , it's freaking me out. I am going to do a big check tomorrow morning. (days off)

The dealer (fwit) said it's normal for a while when they are new. But he is a complete dickhead.

If I find anything interesting I will post. I have looked at another Bandit here at work and the rad hoses are positioned the same and he has a lot of k's on his and no hardening of the rubber or any probs.

Mate looked every where can't find no bloody radiator let alone a hose.

i smelled something really bad the other day when a car on the wrong side of the road nearly hit me

Sorry mate, I'm with Willo............I'm no use to you at all

Thanks mate
I noticed a rubber burning smell too. I'll check my hoses and report if any problems

clean of any chain lube that has flung onto the hose that comes out of the water pump and any chain lube that might have gotten onto the headers near the cat. go for a long ride and see if the smell is gone.
I'm suspecting it could be this

Also lift the fuel tank (take it right off) and have a look at the hosed at the top of the engine including the PAIR hoses to see if any up top are the culprit.