At the rate that my knees are acting up my riding days could be numbered. Yes, I'm trying different things to forestall this as much as possible but it looks like it (knee replacement) may happen in the next couple of years. Everything I've read so far basically talks about pain management until it gets to the point of knee replacement. Naturally keeping a 600 lb scoot upright is probably the most stressful thing on my knees and will be one of the first to go.
So is there a riding life after knee replacement? Please no suggestions for getting a trike, sorry trike guys, no offense but just not my cup of tea. Cause if there isn't, guess I'm gonna have to ride the heck out of it for the next couple of years......

 

I don't have fake knees but I do have a suggestion. Learn balance. When coming to a stop on the bike you should be able to gently lower both feet and very lightly touch the ground like Kung Fu on rice paper. If you feel the weight of the bike in either one of your legs then you haven't learned balance yet.

 

Took all the pills and all the shots and when all the doctors efforts with pain stopped working I had my knee replaced.. 6 wks later I was riding my bike to rehab.. The therapist said I actually had better strenght and flexiblity in my new knee than my old.. That was April 2008.. it worked out so good I had the other one done in Dec. 2008.. Now with 2 new knees I feel better than ever and can do a lot more than before.. that includes riding.. Did the Pony Express ride with HOG in Sept of 2009.. 6200 mile round trip in 14 days.. I don't have that stiffness from sitting whenever I stop and try to get off.. and NO MORE PAIN.. The only thing, the dr. does not like to hear I ride a motorcycle.. since they insert metal rods into the bones the chances of bones splintering whenever you land on them.. falling off a ladder, down some steps or tip your bike over.. will be real bad.. dr said probably would not be able to save the legs.. so far I have fallen off a ladder and took the bike over a 6' embankment(not on purpose) and the knees have held up..shoulder, not so good.. Get your knee replaced, do all the rehab and get out and ride..

 

I've had an artificial right hip since 1988. I have to believe that it's a bigger deal than a knee replacement. I've had zero problems. I have full range of motion, and can do 400+ mile day trips on the bike np. I even ran the Boston Marathon in 1992!

Joint replacements have come a long way since the days of being considered an "old person" thing. I was in an Orthopedic ward in '88, and several of my roommates were in for knee replacements. One of them fit the "old" stereotype, the other two were young guys. In all cases, when they were wheeled back into the room from recovery, their leg was suspended in a motorized sling moving the joint back and forth... sometimes even before the person was fully conscious! They were up doing assisted walking within a day or two (as I recall... I was pretty out of it). I'm sure the technology has improved even more since then.

Git 'r done and get on with your riding!

 

I had my left knee replaced in May. I was riding 4 weeks after the surgery. Not far, but I was riding. When I planned the surgery, I made my doc promise that I would be good to go for Sturgis. He did, and he was right. I rode to Sturgis (600 miles) in less than two months after the surgery.

Do your your rehab religiously. Do what they say. You will be fine. I felt so much better even with the post-surgical pain that I knew I it was worth it. By the way, I am 55.

 

I did it last November. Yes, there is some fear that a fall would splinter all femur and tibia ends beyond repair but that could happen anyway. So get er done and ride.

 

balance good, grasshopper

 

Don't have any experience with this myself but I know a few people with new hips and knees that say they feel better than they had in 20 years
ya never know you might end up riding more because your legs don't hurt anymore is sort of what I mean

 

I have had a hip replacement and a knee replacement and no problems in holding up the bike and last march had an encounter with a deer that resulted in 2 screws in my ankle but the prosthetics came out of it without a scratch ride on

 

This advice to learn balance is well intended, but not realistic.

If we can ride a bike, we have balance. But, sometimes something happens that throws that off.

I've had my left ACL done twice, left MCL once, and right ACL and PCL once each. (I am a ski instructor in the winter and used to race back in the day.)

No matter how balanced and strong your legs are, you'll always still find that one way to tweak it.

The best thing for me is to keep my legs strong, especially my quads. Not bodybuilder bulked up, but strong enough to keep my knee pretty stable. Best preventative measure possible. Still, once in a while, I tweak something.

I've been skiing long enough to know that once your knees go, they go. The best you can do is keep your legs strong and not let them get worse. And, 99% of the time, that can be pretty good.

Good luck to you