Not sure about the weight or health issues but I totally agree with what Graham is saying. I had consant numbness and lowered my risers by just 1.5" and it all but went away. I still get it sometimes when running extened highway trips simply because I'm trying to hang on. I ride my bike to work and have noticed when I'm running late and pushing it, my hands can get a little numb just because I'm tense and over gripping.

Ds

 

I gotta say that the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is something you do not want to ignore.
I waited too long and have nerve damage in one of my hands. There is numbness now that I will have forever.
Go get checked by a doctor. There are some exercises your doctor can recommend that may keep you from needing the surgery.
I have had the operation on both hands. It ain't fun. Try to avoid that by doing something about it now.

 

My entire thumb to the base falls asleep (entire hand at times also). All started after I had stuff done to my Back. Like someone else mentioned on here....just shake it off; annoying too.
I would say it's a nerve thingy.......

Not to go wayyyyy off, BUT.....
How about the nerve/s on your outer thigh when it feels like hot coals or a large dose of novacane, etc. Happens when I ride and I get nervous at times thinking I won't be able to hold the bike up at stops. Another nerve thingy........

 

jimbro...
The overly tight death grip will get to you as well like Doug S stated. Just ran 505 miles yesterday and only had a slight tingle at one point. Took maybe a hour total in breaks out of 14+ hours of riding. I'm not a seasoned iron a$$ and my dyna isn't a comfy ride. Drag bars and forward controls are not made for touring but, it's what I have to work with for now.

 

looking at your sig pic.......your grips point straight back like a set of drag pipes............that's got to put a hell of a bend in your wrists

 

I checked on the way to work this morning at a stoplight. The angle of the bars seems to put my wrists in a neutral position. I am 6'4" and I just grab the bars like they are meant to be that way. As far as a death grip, I only hold on tight at green lights trying to get ahead of the black smoke powerstroke in the left lane or when I decellerate to keep the front wheel from wobbling. I've made a deliberate effort to not grip tight since my original post.

 

I had the same problem with my stock bars on my Superglide so I switched to some apes and it really helped now I can ride a lot longer with only minor tingling.

 

I subscribe to the blind position theory. Basically you rotate your current bars out of the way, sit on the bike like usual and close your eyes. Get yourself convinced you are going to go riding and keeping your eyes closed, reach out and pretend to grip the bars. This is where your bars/grips should be for maximum comfort.

 

That sounds like a good idea

 

All good advise ., im pushing 60 years old and have had this problem with many different different types of bikes.
My advise is ... adjust your bars to whatever is most comfortable ., adjust your gripps to same for the size of your hand . Ive found that using riding gloves can be the most help.