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Well bike is back, wiring is bodged back together whilst I get a new parts but engine runs and sounds healthy. I've been very lucky. So now its over, what have I learnt:
1) Power of publicity. I would never have got the bike back without hitting the local radio / press / TV. Bike was dumped (or maybe parked for later re-use) in a wood and was found by a man walking his dog. If it hadn't been for the publicity he would have walked right by - as it was he recognised it from the picture in the paper and called the cops - who were then very efficient at recovering it and letting me know it had been found..
2) How good ordinary people are. I had great support from both here and the Swansea people, especially local motorcyclists. Support to the level where someone even offered me a free bike to continue my travels on. That support really buoyed me through the week without the bike.
3) Even local toe-rag thieves are, unfortunately, very good at what they do. Who ever stole my bike knew how to very quickly and efficiently hot wire it (just a matter of cutting the wires off the back of the ignition switch and twisting the correct wires together) and to disable anything that might be a tracker or alarm. Swansea also seems to be a bit of a vehicle theft hot-spot, whilst I was recovering the bike from the local impound yard I was told they were on track for recovering 300 vehicles that month (and it was a quiet time of year).
During the bikeless period I was offered some work and took it thinking I might need to fund a new bike - so this trip is now finished, before it began, but I'll be back in 3 months for another go.
Thanks everyone for your support.
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