First ride since knee replacement surgery

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Living Legend
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
2,901
Location
Banner, WA
Ride
2009 Rocket Touring
It's been a cold, snowy winter and a bit of a painful one for me since I had my left knee replaced in late October of last year. I got out once or twice on my sidecar rig but it was a bit premature, since I twisted the knee and paid for it the next day.

Today was a spectacularly beautiful day though and I resolved to get out on two wheels. I tried to pull the Rocket out of the Condor chock but couldn't do it. It was for the best since I'd probably drop it trying to turn it around in the crushed rock in front of the shop.

My BMW R1200C is kept in my garage with my sidecar rig so decided that was the one to ride. I wrapped my new knee tightly before backing the bike out of the garage very carefully. I had to maneuver around some snow still in the driveway but finally got it down to the street. Since it's been a little over four months since the surgery, I was a little nervous, being concerned that I'd damage my new titanium artificial knee. The knee joint is pretty weak on these things for about a year and it let me know it.

In any event, I rode out and about with a good friend who was critically injured two years ago on his Indian Chieftain when a dim bulb young girl turned left in front of him while texting. I took care of Cam back then, getting him home from the hospital and to his physical therapy appointments, and he's been very attentive to me since my surgery.

Any day on two wheels is a great day, even if it hurts just a wee bit.
First Ride Post Surgery.jpg
 
Last edited:
It's been a cold, snowy winter and a bit of a painful one for me since I had my left knee replaced in late October of last year. I got out once or twice on my sidecar rig but it was a bit premature, since I twisted the knee and paid for it the next day.

Today was a spectacularly beautiful day though and I resolved to get out on two wheels. I tried to pull the Rocket out of the Condor chock but couldn't do it. It was for the best since I'd probably drop it trying to turn it around in the crushed rock in front of the shop.

My BMW R1200C is kept in my garage with my sidecar rig so decided that was the one to ride. I wrapped my new knee tightly before backing the bike out of the garage very carefully. I had to maneuver around some snow still in the driveway but finally got it down to the street. Since it's been a little over four months since the surgery, I was a little nervous, being concerned that I'd damage my new titanium artificial knee. The knee joint is pretty weak on these things for about a year and it let me know it.

In any event, I rode out and about with a good friend who was critically injured two years ago on his Indian Chieftain when a dim bulb young girl turned left in front of him while texting. I took care of Cam back then, getting him home from the hospital and to his physical therapy appointments, and he's been very attentive to me since my surgery.

Any day on two wheels is a great day, even if it hurts just a wee bit.
First Ride Post Surgery.jpg


Great to hear...don’t rush it though...
 
Must feel good to be back on two wheels. Love the Beemer. I have thought about buying one of those C's as there are several available within a reasonable distance of me. Do you find it to be a reliable bike? Is it high maintenance (like my K bike was)?
 
Good going, you out and about again on 2 wheels.:D I always welcome the first few rides of a new season. Enjoy

Hoopla
 
Thanks guys, it was a good day and a milestone for me. The Rocket is next but I'll wait a bit for that. I might even get my wife out in the sidecar rig this summer.

Prestaged, on the 1200C, it is reliable, like most BMWs but does take a bit more maintenance than other bikes. Valve adjustment is the big one every 5k or so. The big issue with them is lack of parts availability. I found some other issues after I bought that would have changed my mind about purchasing.

-Fuel tank seal coat separation. I've never seen this on any other bike. It's not real common I don't believe but it has happened to enough of them that to me it's something to be very wary of.
-Rear turn signal stems. They are plastic and break. After market metal ones are available at times for about $90. Same with the front.
-ABS. Many for sale have non-operable ABS'
-Transmission output shaft. The transmission output shaft does not go all the way into the clutch basket which has caused some failures. It's a design flaw with no explanation of how BMW could have screwed this up. There is a very expensive required service to lube the splines about every 45k miles to prevent it. It requires dismantling half the bike to do a 2 minute spline lube. I's about a 6-8 hour job. It has led to output shaft teeth rounding off, with replacing the shaft another big job.
-Unique handle bars. The C comes with three different handlebar options, the mini-apes as in the James Bond movie, European bars and the ones I have which are sometimes referred to as "Police" bars. I didn't like the apes but was able to find a fairly low cost set of police bars and was fortunate to do so. To me they need a bar back, which is no longer available. Also, the bars are unique, having different center and bar end dimensions. Thus, nothing else fits them.
-The stock exhausts can develop a rattle upon startup which is attributed to broken baffle. They cannot be repaired and are very expensive to replace. I run Bubs on mine which sound great but are no longer available.

On the up side it's very torquey, handles well and is fun to ride. If I had it to do again, I'd probably walk away. Both previous owners are friends of mine and I got a very good deal on it but.........
 
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