It's the bars. Happened to me also.
Kromeworks Sweepers or Wild1 575's.

 

Like most have said, adjustment of the bike to your body is the key. Seat and bars should be so that you sit straight up with a straight back and the elbows slightly bent. Then a backrest would help on the long hauls. If you ever get a chance to watch a m/c drill team, like a police unit, look at their posture and try to immitate it. Stay off the pills.

 

I don't have the cruise yet but I will be adding it soon. It is on my list after I get my stereo and complete the stage 1.

 

Not to get too personal, but you didn't say how old you are, if you're in shape, whether you exercise or not. Turning 50, I find pains I never felt before, and I just started rinding in 2002. I have to stretch my arms, legs and back every day.

On long rides, I move around (change riding positions) a lot. Stretch my arms, stretch my upper back, purposely relax my shoulders. Don't eliminate the possibility that a weakness on one side of you body will cause a strain on the other side.

For the record, I feel the same after a 300 mile ride as I do a 550 mile ride, tired. One reason is I usually don't stop and rest or eat properly. Fatigue causes problems.

 

I have to agree........Adding the backrest is a must...you can do that yourself with a few simple tools. Then like masterblaster said, then change the bars if the backrest dosen't take care of it.

Be comfortable and stay away from the narcotics......believe me ITS NOT WORTH IT!!!

 

I have the pain between my shoulders at the base of my neck. I had 3 bikes in the last 6 years and have had it on every one. Pullback risers on the last one didn't totally solve the problem, but I'm gonna try again. I'm in the research process for new bars on my SG now. Think I'm settled on the Khromewerks sweepers.

 

+1 WO575 Handlebars and a back rest did the trick for me.

 

I agree,my backrest was the best money I have spent.But on long rides I will take a couple of Excedrins new product back and body pain reliever.I have no more pain.If for some reason that dont work Excedrin Migrains will take care of it.But cruise control and frequent stops will help alot also.

 

Thanks all.
I will start looking in to a new set of bars and the rider backrest for sure (was already on my list).

 

Just a thought. What you are describing is somewhat akin to the problem people have when they spend a lot of time peering into a computer screen and the monitor is at the wrong distance (or height) from your head. I have the same problem and it is exacerbated by the windshield. You are more than likely either looking just below the top or you are peering over the top. I see this often, expecially if the rider is a tall drink of water like myself. Either way, you might be placing a strain on your neck vertabrae and muscles. Doing neck excercises helps some but you need to address the cause. Also, when I bought a new helmet I experienced the pain. When I began to look closer I found my new helmet had more padding at the bottom where it rested on your shoulders. The added padding was designed to provide more of a cushion when in a crash but for me it was placing my neck in a bind. My old helmet was old enough to vote and it didn't have near the safety padding that a modern DOT helmet has. Another thing to consider might be your handlebars. Just tilting them forward or back as little as an inch can make a huge difference in how your neck reacts to a a motorcycle ride. I suspected the handlebar thing because I noticed when I was using the cruise control, the pain was not as pronounced. I noted that when using cruise control I no longer had the "death grip" on the handlebars. Once your neck is temporarily injured it will probably take a couple of weeks to quit hurting completely but the solutions offered should be considered and you can probably tell if they are likely to succeed after a short ride. For me, all of the above things helped, but the big fix was getting a windshield that was two inches higher than the stock shield. By looking through a higher shield I was no longer right at the point where the windshield ended and blue sky took over. The higher windshield also eliminated a good deal of the head buffeting I was getting because of wind.
I am not a doctor and I don't play one on TV. I just ride motorcycles and have some experience. To be safe, it might not hurt to run this by your doctor. Good luck.