Finally tracked down a reliably-reconditioned gearbox in Ohio, which allegedly will arrive on Thursday. I'll be putting a new clutch plate in at the same time - ha'p'orth of tar and all that. Thanks to all who came up with suggestions and weblinks.The squirrels here are black, and there's practically no traffic.

Ottawa is a little like Vientiane - about the size of Reading, which is extraordinary given that it's the capital of the second-largest country in the world. In the rush-hour there may be as many as three cars stopped at a red traffic light. It's a rather beautiful city.

It appears my gearbox is fine, despite the classic symptoms. The shaft has broken, which is highly unusual; the whole reason for having a non-Paralever model is that the shafts don't (usually) break. Sigh. Yet again I get a hitherto-unknown or rare fault. It's comforting to be able to swear in ten major languages.

I sorted the overcharging problem; as Phil surmised, it was the rather elderly wiring loom connecting the alternator, regulator, diode board and starter. So I constructed a new one and all is now well. I mean, I didn't mind having to switch all the lights on, but sometimes had to fire up the heated grips to keep the voltage down to a sensible level, which was a bit of a trial in Florida temperatures. I even fitted a high-wattage headlight bulb.

The licensing laws are even more arcane here than in the US. The only place one can buy Bombay Sapphire is a government liquor store; here it's the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario), who also stock a decent selection of South American wine. But one has to then find a supermarket to get the tonic and limes.

At least my plastic works here for buying fuel, unlike the US where foreign-issued cards frequently don't work. And I've had to turn my brain over to kilometres and litres, which are generally more familiar; in the US I found myself converting from US gallons to litres to Imperial gallons to calculate fuel consumption and pricing, which is good for mental arithmetic but makes my brain hurt.