help with upper back pain

[fastandslow]

Hi all,

bit of background: I started riding this year, and have about 3000 km under my belt so far. I'm 31, with no history of back pain or trauma.

My issue: right off the bat I noticed that on rides longer than 30 minutes I would start to get a sharp pain in my upper back, right in between my shoulder blades. I'm 5'9" but with a short reach, so I bought and installed a set of 30mm risers hoping to fix the issue, but it didn't. It either made no difference, or made it slightly worse. It gets so bad that I actually start losing feeling and dexterity in my arms and hands and have had to pull over and rest for fear of accidentally letting go of the handlebars!

I have done some searches and most people complain about lower back pain, which risers would logically help eliminate.

Has anyone else had this experience? I'm wondering if maybe the stock GS bars are too wide for my body proportions, causing my shoulder blades to get pushed together in an awkward way and pinch a nerve or something. I'm considering narrower bars, maybe some clubman or Suburban Machinery style ones that wouldn't lower the controls too much.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[mr72]

It may from holding your head up, not related to your arms/hands position much at all.

You might want to try a bar with more back-sweep, which oddly enough handlebar vendors call "pull back". The stock handlebars are probably very similar to the Bikemaster "Daytona" bend, if that means anything. Get bars with more "pull back" than Daytonas and the same or more rise, might help.

I found it took several sets of bars for me to settle on ones that worked for me.

BTW when you move your handlebars around it changes the angle of everything else, so you might have to balance between lower back, knees, hip position, etc. I wound up having to modify my seat, change the shock preload, etc., in addition to finding the right bars. I probably wouldn't mind some risers but I can understand your frustration. I'm still fighting some fatigue/numbness in my left hand.

[HPP8140]

Just like any other activity, maybe your body needs to adjust. Loosen up, relax, strengthen the core. Wait till you ride a sportbike.

[J_Walker]

I'm the same height, and have the same issue with heavy jackets/wearing backpacks. Doc said it was from riding my motorcycle and couldn't really explain why or how to stop it..

I have ummm, not long arms, normal sized arms?? but a long torso. [sounds strange I know] slightly disproportional indeed.

Trying to sit up like you're on a big cruiser is the only way I've found to fix it, riding with one arm helps too. and of course only taking short rides [sucks I know]

if you don't wanna buy a bunch of extended reach cables and super tall risers + bars. switching to clipon's also do the same thing but in reverse. just gotta buy the clip-on bars, and don't really need to change anything either.

Stock bars are kinda dumb, not high up enough, or down low enough, like a really bad compromise.

Just like any other activity, maybe your body needs to adjust. Loosen up, relax, strengthen the core. Wait till you ride a sportbike.

His body won't adjust I have chronic shoulder pain from riding the GS's bad ergonomics. If I stop riding it for like 3-5 months it just "goes away"

[qcbaker]

...
Stock bars are kinda dumb, not high up enough, or down low enough, like a really bad compromise.
...

I have to agree with you here. I changed my bars out for superbike bars, and I even downturned them a bit to make them a bit lower and that seems to have helped a bit. But, I honestly just wish the F model had clip-ons, like the SV650 vs the SV650S. The non-faired SV has a normal handlebar like the GS, but the faired one has clip-ons. Seems like that would've been a better way to go.

[mr72]

His body won't adjust I have chronic shoulder pain from riding the GS's bad ergonomics.

Seriously?

It's not "bad" ergonomics, it's just the wrong fit. This is why things like bars can be changed. There's absolutely no way to make a motorcycle that will fit everybody. In fact it's almost guaranteed that it will fit only a very small portion of people. It should be expected to adjust/change bars at the very least to get the bike to fit. On any motorcycle I'd also expect the availability of different height seats (which you can't really do with a GS500) and I am still mystified as to why motorcycles don't have adjustable foot peg position.

What I have found in my limited experience but hanging out a lot with other motorcycling beginners like me is that everyone always thinks they are "leaning forward" too far and thinks taller bars will fix it. However, with 30+ years of extensive mountain biking and cycling experience I know good and well that "back pain" in whatever form riding a 2-wheel vehicle is rarely about "leaning". If you are putting too much weight on your hands it will cause problems with your wrists or hands, not your back. If you are not putting any weight on your hands (too upright) you will have to support your body with your back, which will cause back issues.

If you are having upper back pain or muscle strain between your shoulder blades it's most likely because your shoulders are too far back with respect to your spine... you can feel these muscles by trying to touch your elbows together behind your back, which is an exaggerated motion that demonstrates the problem. My guess is a narrower overall handlebar might actually help. A higher handlebar won't likely help. Go too tall on the handlebar and you may wind up with lower back pain in addition to the upper back. And your upper back might actually be hurting from trying to support your head, you might be moving your back into a position of strain because you need to in order to get your head where you feel comfortable seeing.

I think it's all about balance with fit on a motorcycle. There's no one-size-fits-all. Just because J_Walker's body doesn't fit a GS500 doesn't mean it's bad ergonomics, but many of us swap handlebars (I'm on my third bar) to try to get it dialed in, since it's basically the only thing you can adjust on a GS500. If I were you I'd go with a narrower bar with more "pull back" and see how that goes.

[ajensen]

I do not know how people who ride cruisers manage not to have back problems. A motorcycle is not an easy chair. For example, when those guys hit bumps, they cannot put weight on the pegs and use legs as shock absorbers. What about choppers? I cannot imagine riding one of those. As for true "sport" bikes, a road racing crouch gets old after a while.  My stock GS500f fits me well, but as was noted, not everyone is built the same and has the same style of riding. I have had some lower back problems--not from riding but from sitting in cheap airline seats on cross-Pacific flights. A physical therapist gave me some exercises to do every day, and I've not had the problem again--at least so far. There may be some upper-back exercises that would help. I really hope that you get to the place where you can enjoy your GS. They are really fun to ride.

[HPP8140]

His body won't adjust I have chronic shoulder pain from riding the GS's bad ergonomics.

Seriously?

It's not "bad" ergonomics, it's just the wrong fit. This is why things like bars can be changed. There's absolutely no way to make a motorcycle that will fit everybody. In fact it's almost guaranteed that it will fit only a very small portion of people. It should be expected to adjust/change bars at the very least to get the bike to fit. On any motorcycle I'd also expect the availability of different height seats (which you can't really do with a GS500) and I am still mystified as to why motorcycles don't have adjustable foot peg position.

My gsxr has them

[ajensen]

In ancient times, most motorcycles had adjustable foot pegs.  Triumph (the originals), BSA, Royal Enfield (made in England), Ducati singles, etc. The only problem was that often they were fragile and slipped their locations. I agree it would be helpful if we could adjust the pegs easily.

[Joolstacho]

If you live in a country with a humane health system, have your back problem investigated. Back problems like this have a tendency to get worse with age.
Your upper vertebrae and discs are also vulnerable to damage, as well as the lower back ones.
In my experience the 'hunched' mid to lower spine shape caused by higher more upright or pull-back bars can be much more harmful than a 'lean forward' position.