I have pain between my shoulders on long rides.
My current set up is all stock, 05 Heritage Softail.
I am not a tall guy. 5'9", and not long arms either. I think a 35in sleeve size.

I would like to get rid of this pain, but need some suggestions.
I have considered some pull back risers, but don't really know how much up and back I need, and also don't really want to spend the $ for new cables.
How much can I go and not change cables?


Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
Barry

 

After a long days ride on my stock Fatboy my back and shoulder would cause me big time pain. Like a hot poker between my shoulder blades. I even tried risers, but it really didn't make much of a difference. By the end of a week's road trip, I could barely lift my one arm. The pain was intense.. and was taking longer and longer each day to go away after I stopped for the night.

I just came back from a road trip a couple of weeks ago and got to try out my new bars .. and realized after a few days that I didn't have that pain. Not at all. Mind you this trip was pretty easy in that we were ususally off the road by supper time. I didn't drive for as long (per day) as I have in the past.

So I don't really know if it was because I was less fatigued by the end of the day, or that my new bars were a better position for me.

In any event ... what ever it was that was different .. It worked!

 

That sounds very familiar.
What bars did you change to?

 

I have an 09 Heritage and I had the pain problem too. I fixed it with these two modifications. I installed 4 inch pullback risers and a backrest. You can install 4 inch pullbacks without having to change out any cabling or wiring. Anything longer and you have to lengthen them.

I installed the HD 4 inch pullback risers and purchased a backrest from Grasshopper Limited. You can find Grasshopper Limited online.

I just did a 1600 mile road trip through California (lots of twisties) and no back problems or pain between my shoulders.

 

Sorry .. I don't know what they are called .. They belonged to a friend who had them .. and I thought I would try them out .. loved 'em so I bought them. I'm not that familiar with the names of bars .. but they remind me of beach bars .. just not quite as wide. My grip is pulled back quite a bit, so I sit a lot more upright than before. With my stock bars, I leaned forward way too much.

 

I had the same pain with my stock bars. I added some risers with a pullback and didn't notice much of a change. Since I switched to apes, I've never had the pain again. I'll never own one without apes again.

 

Many questions!

Do you have good pics of the risers on your bike? I assume that its relatively easy to install given no wiring changes needed?

On the back rest, is it adjustable? Heard that the Firehouse Customs backrest actually bent back over time, I presume not an issue with the Grasshopper backrest?

 

Besides getting new bars and all, maybe think about trying to fix some imbalances in your posture to try to correct the problem?

If you're leaning forward too much to reach the bars, chances are that you're protracting your shoulders also. This, in addition to many other different factors like desk jobs, using the computer all day, etc, can lead to imbalances in your posture. Your upper body anterior muscles (especially chest) are probably tight, and your upper back are probably weak and inhibited. They have to work a lot harder to try to correct the posture issue, but will never correct it on its own. They get tired out, and muscle spasms will occur, and painful triggerpoints (tight muscle knots) will form.

To fix the problem, you can do some simple exercises to work your upper back muscles and stretch your chest muscles.

Getting new bars will help, but the underlying problem will most likely still be there.

 

Yes .. you are absolutely correct .. Posture is a huge problem ... especially after a full day of riding. After fatigue starts to set in, it's hard to keep it in check .. no matter how hard you try. Personally, I try to keep it in mind during the day ... and doing some shoulder circles and spine stretches help a lot .. Gotta keep blood flowing. It's only a matter of time when cramps start to grab ahold from sitting in one position too long.

 

I used to have similar pain with the stock deluxe setup but after switching to my ape hangers I haven't had the pain since. A windshield also helps since you're not using your shoulder and back muscles as much. I'll never go on a long long ride without the shield.