Bike fixed.

Do you know how hard it is to find a simple thing, like a wreckers yard here? (Or "breakers" as they call them in the UK. Somewhere to buy 2nd hand bike parts, anyway.)
The four listed on Yell.com were either closed, had turned into engineering works only, or didn't have common items in stock.

Anyway, I eventually located the number for "2B's", after about two days of trying unsuccessfully to Google/Yell.com/etc for them, and popped in. They had a huge box of rectifiers, so I dug one out that looked like it had the right sort of plug on it, but I selected one that looked new and heavier-duty. I borrowed some tools and swapped it for the one on my bike.. and lo and behold, it fixed the charging problem.

It's wierd that the old rectifier was still partially charging - normally they either do, or don't. Anyway, I'm happy now, except for the fact that I have wasted a lot of time and money chasing the problem down.

Still, touch wood, everything else seems fine, and the bike even seems to run slightly smoother, although I may just be projecting that..

Now, to go for some long rides while summer is still around! :)

(PS. Does anyone want to buy the Honda Bros? 400cc V-Twin, F-reg, etc)