Wish I'd seen that earlier! Just ordered myself a new one thats MOSFET latest greatest one - £130 - good price but not as cheap as that. Only problem with that I guess is that could die on you just as fast.
hopefully i get my bike back today from the garage, in the end even they've opted to fit a 3rd party reg/rec, partly to save me some money but also because they doubt it'll be as crap as the triumph one!! If the stator hadn't gone as well, i'd have been tempted to DIY it but since its completely buggered, i'll just bite the bullet this time.