Hi,
Thanks for the tips, I didn't even know it was a ball joint... that is how coroded the thing is!
If anyone knows human anatomy, the hip "ball" has a neck, that is what old people break, the neck of the femur (oh, and I'm not a Doctor as well as not being an engineer!).
The linkage had broken the neck of the femur, you can't see a ball at all... It must be in the plastic bushing". Will look of course.
OK. On planet earth there are lots of ball-joints so has anyone ever tried to re-purpose one for this linkage? If I find a source I'll pass it on!
But for now I will remove the whole assembly and check for wear elsewhere.
Also I'll do some research into Construction and Use regs. It may be an offence to drive without wipers... But on motorcycles if all wiring and fixings are removed for say, indicators, then that is OK, whereas a broken bulb is braking the law!!
Robert