You have to watch so called friends, they are the ones that can get to you because of trust. He may have been unaware of the problem. I had a good friend rat me out to the coppers when I was young. I guess there is no way to check with to track down your original bike. I had a '75 Harley stolen from me in '77 and I was sick. I prayed the guy would get killed or maimed on it. The only way I could get over it was buy a brand new one. Oh well, life has a way of kicking you through the goal posts sometimes.