Burn, Baby, Burn … Hot Pipe Causes Pain

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Let me guess that this has happened to you – but probably only once.

A little background first, though. Last weekend, I bought a peppy 1982 BMW R65LS to replace the 1985 BMW K100RS that recently left the garage (and is now on sale on Craigslist by its new owner for more than double what he paid me for it).  On Tuesday, I got the R65 registered at the D.M.V. office in Waterbury. The wait time was only an hour and three-quarters, which wasn’t bad considering that it had taken an hour longer a few weeks earlier when I went to register another vehicle.

Unfortunately, rain the remainder of last week meant the bike stayed parked in the garage, but yesterday afternoon – after a burst of sunshine allowed for the mowing of the lawn – I backed it out and rode it next door to show a neighbor my newest toy. He took it for a ride up the street. Upon his return, we chatted for a few minutes with the bike’s motor running. I then rode it home, turned off the ignition, and went to put the bike on its center stand. Because the R65 was in first gear, it wouldn’t rock easily, so I turned sideways to the bike to click the shifter into neutral. That’s when it happened.

Did I happen to mention that I was wearing shorts?

While I’m normally an ATG-ATT rider (that stands for “All The Gear, All The Time”), I figured I could ride maybe 100 yards without covering up. The ride wasn’t a problem. Putting the bike on its center stand was. As I turned to click the shifter, the right part of my lower right leg went hard against the left exhaust pipe. I didn’t feel it at first and when I did … well, a chunk of burnt flesh. Well-done. About the size of a clump of grass spit out of a lawn mower.

Surprisingly, there was no pain. I went back to finishing up chores until the mind started conjuring up fears of infection. I went to another neighbor’s house – one with kids – and he sprayed something on it. He said it would take care of the pain, which I didn’t feel until after he sprayed the burn. A subsequent trip to the pharmacy netted some ointment. This morning, there’s a big pus bubble on my leg.

The plan for this morning is to ride with a couple of friends out to Toymaker’s Cafe in Falls Village for breakfast. In setting up the ride last night, I mentioned my misfortune with the hot pipe. Both guys reported having done the same thing themselves in the past. Guess I’ll consider this another notch in the saddle of experience.