not that this helps your answer but i had a motorbike stolen about 10 years ago - a few days later the police rang me to say a park keeper had found a bike with no number plates - could i go along and see if it was mine and let them know. I did go along, it was mine and i got it picked up. the very next day i was admitted to hospital, and stayed in for a month and diagnosed with a serious illness, so i never got round to telling the police i'd found it, never claimed on the insurance, never rode it again as i was too unwell
fast forward 8 years, and the bike has been languishing in the garage for all that time and my b-I-L wants a bike, so i give him this one I rang dvla to see if it was still listed as stolen but it wasn't!