If you rotate your neck and the dorsal pain increases, it is of cervical origin. Ifnyou turn your chest with increased pain, it is of dorsal origin...overhead hanging traction from elevated bar will ease it. Any questions..pm me.

 

You likely have a pinched nerve from a bulging disc. Mine bothers me when I experience a lot of buffeting. The suggestions of a home traction unit are good ones. NSAIDS and a trip to the physical therapist may be in order.

I'm a PT and I see this every day.

 

I also had this pain. The back rest did not help, but certainly makes things more comfortable and easier to back the bike up.

What I found for me was to keep adjusting the handlebars that came on the bike (Heritage) until I found the sweet spot. It took me awhile to do this because I wanted long periods of "no pain" between my test rides and adjustments. I got there eventually and it is pretty close to being in the middle of where it was when I picked up the bike and fully up.

 

If you're going to be on a bike for long periods of time, you have to be comfortable.


Since we're all built differently, finding the proper handlebars is a personal decision.
For me, I went with W.O.'s 577's (12.5) on my '13 CVO Ultra.
I probably could have gone with the 578's (10 I believe) but for the cost of installation I wasn't about to risk not going high enough the first time.

On my last Ultra (2000) I changed the handlebars, added the rider backrest, two sets of foot pegs and that bike just "ate up" the miles!

FWIW, I had hand wind deflectors (from J.C. Whitney) on the old bike and I also have them on the '13 also. I also have JES chrome fork wind deflectors and a chrome fork air baffle to decrease air buffeting.


Another product(s) that I highly recommend for hot weather riding is the H-D Circulator seat pad, and backrest pad.
They're great in preventing sweating on hot, muggy rides.

 

Another issue to be considered is your posture while riding. Yes bars make a huge difference that's why I put 10" Wild 1 chubbys on my Limited and have 14" ones on my Road King but how do you position your back while riding?? Do you sit up straight like a motor officer that spends 8 hours a day in a motor seat or do you find yourself slouching? It's a combo. I did 2000 miles last month in 4 days. 600 to Maggie Valley, several days of 200-250 a day then 600 back. Your riding position adds up as you add miles, bad posture will get ya very quickly. The Mustang touring seat was perfect on the bottom end, just had to remember to maintain a straight back.

 

Backrest is a must, I also went with Yaffee 12" classic bagger apes and the ergonomics are way. better for me! I am 6'1"

 

I went with the Khrome Werks - 300515, most of the pain is gone now.

 

About what everyone here is saying. Taller bars and an adjustable back rest is the best place to start. I have both and get some relief. I'm about the same age as you and have had all the same symptoms. I'm starting to realize that I just can't ride quite as far as I used too anymore.

 

bars and a backrest. ride on.

 

It could be cervical spondylosis (a shrinking of the disc resulting in the nerve touching the vertebrae bone). After a rear-end collision (in my car) and a new job where I had poor posture (looking down at a laptop screen) I had an episode of the 'stinger' as you call it.

Glucosamine helped me. I tried the Lakota product with has glucosamine as the main ingredient and it was almost a magic fix. Supposedly this hydrates cartilage (discs) which insulates the nerve from the bone. Supposedly, your body produces less glucosamine itself as you age.

But I keep a fitness regime that includes both weight training and stretching. Also I'm very concious of my work environment and have a monitor for my PC which is raised so I'm sitting up straight.

Oh yeah, the mini-apes and footboards on my Heritage are the greatest thing since sliced bread.