I'm looking for a system for carrying up to 4 mountain bikes. It occurs to me that the trailer hitch mounted systems people use on minivans or SUVs would be both unobtrusive when not in use, and easy on the finish when loaded. My lexus dealer tells me that no such option is available through them. Do you know of an aftermarket supplier who makes a bolt-on adapter for the IS300?

 

Why would want to carry boikes on your Lexus..?:eek:

 

Because I may sell my Alfa Romeo 164, which has beautifully-integrated factory racks that can carry 4 bikes in style.

 

Maybe you can get a hitch or a hidden hitch put on your "soon to be IS300" and carry bikes but may not be in style.....

 

Hey, I wrote a long thread about carrying bikes on the IS300 on www.IS300.net a few weeks back. Basically I already own a Yakima roof rack from a Honda Civic, and just had to change a few small parts to get it to fit the LExus. The conversion cost $50, and took 30 minutes to do.
Depending on how you set up the bike trays, you can fit at least 3, probably 4 bikes up top without much problems. The only reason I would suggest a roof rack though is if you carry things other than bikes as well, and will be adding other rack attachments.
The reason I say this is because roof racks are modular, and each attachment costs $$$ and it adds up quickly. If you are only going to carry bikes, I'd get a trunk mounted rack. They usually don't carry many bikes, and not nearly as well, but are cheaper. Saris makes a good one.
I've tried both Yakima and Thule racks in the past and I find the Yakima to be slightly better.

http://www.is300.net/cgi-bin/ubb/ult...c&f=4&t=000798