I had rotator cuff surgery in December, 2011. I did the damage putting my little granddaughter, with car seat, into the car. Although I immediately knew something happened, I ignored the pain for the next few months. When the pain got bad enough that I couldn't find a position that would let me sleep, I decided on surgery. Surgery was no problem until the pain killer wore off. I begin rehab the next week and continued it at their facility for about 6 months. I continued the exercises at home and am still faithfully doing them. I believe it's good preventative medicine for avoiding having to do it again. During the first 3 months after surgery, I couldn't do much of anything that required any shoulder movement. Doctor wanted me to initially lift nothing heavier than a small soup can. After about 6 months, I could do some light lifting and movement was much less painful. It took about a year before I didn't think about it much, unless I was going to lift something heavier. After about 18 months, it was pretty much back to normal. Since I live in Minnesota, riding motorcycle during the first few months wasn't an issue. As I recall, I begin riding again about four months after surgery. Didn't even think about putting the ST1300 on the center stand and figured that if I ever dropped it, I would just get some help. Fortunately that never happened.
Although there was pain during rehab., the first few months, I never regretted getting the surgery done. The shoulder sometimes gets a little tender after exercise, but it has never been a problem for me.
Wish you good luck with whatever you decide.
Gary