great title for a book :thumbup1:
i should do a book or 2 myself 1 would be "how to fix it without buying the proper parts"
and maybe the other 1 should be "do not ever do this again" :rolleyes2:

Thanks XT Girl! It's been a bl**dy awful 3-4 months, but things look like they are starting to get back on track. I have two (fingers crossed) working bikes, the man from Autoglass is coming to fix the car screen tomorrow (only £65), I taxed the car by renewing a few days before ther MoT was required to renew, and Mrs BDZ seems to be starting to recover rather than get worse.

I don't believe in divine intervention, but sometimes fate just seems to be taking the p*ss. But through it all I have ridden my bike every day, and I swear it's the only thing that has kept me sane. As Ogri used to say, "Sod it, I've always got my bike!"

I'd do a check on other wires near the battery to make sure you are not suffering from "black wire corrosion"

Good advice, thanks. I did check all the wires and they all look to be sound, although the earth wire to the sidestand obviously has a break in it somewhere unseen. All connections are good, and the bike is running A1, so my plan to rewire the bike has been deferred.