good news i think...
sourced a new regulator from the honda dealer this morning. 49notes for a sun made in japan number which i didn't think was bad at all.
installed and everything checks out fine. no peaks in voltage and a nice steady 14.5v. it wasn't running bad at all before but it seems to be running even better which is a bonus !
just gotta wait for my new bulbs now and see if it pops those !!!

thanks for all your input, much appreciated.

Dave.