Anybody out there experience breakage of the rubber "hose" that connects the carburator to the intake manifold? Last fall my wife's 2002 Blast started acting goofy. would not idle correctly and would backfire all the rest of the time. Is this a common problem?

Very common but very easy and cheap to fix. I think the boot cost like $10 at the dealer.

Very, very common. Had three go on my bike. $7 a piece. The last one has lasted a whole year.

What the wife and I are planning on doing is getting a spare along with the tools necessary to replace it and store them with the bike for when and if it breaks out on the road. Cheap insurance.