PERRYinLA

Here is a photo of my home-made bike rack for my 92 SC400. I'll post more detailed photos if anyone is interested, but basically, I had a long piece of 1 1/2" tubing that I stole from a tarnished brass coat rack that my neighbor had left out for trash removal. I mounted this pipe between the 2 rear tie-down fittings under the rear bumper (i.e. the holes that chains are hooked onto to secure the car when it is shipped on those large car-carrier trucks).

This was done by plugging each end of the pipe with large rubber cane-tips. I drilled a bolt hole in each end, and with some large bolts and washers, secured the tubing to the 2 rear tie-down fittings. Actually, because the spare tire well is in the way, I bolted on extensions to move the mounting point slightly upward and rearward (you can see photos of this on posts #8 and #9 below).

I then bolted to that tubing 2 pieces of 90 degree electrical conduit pipe (you can see one of them very clearly to the right of the license plate in the first photo, and to the left of the license in the second photo (see the next posting below).

That tubing then mates to a "hoop" style bike rack that I had bought at Pep Boys 20 years ago for my beloved (now stolen) 1972 BMW 3.0CS. This type of rack is made to hook onto the top and bottom of chrome bumpers, and since there are so few bumpers like that anymore, this type of "hoop" style bike rack is not as common anymore. The closest one I could find is this one for $35 from campingworld.com:

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/p...=SRCH&tcode=37

A little bit of drilling, bolting and attaching those orange "pool noodles" for padding, and I can now carry my bike in style! The top of the rack is secured with a strap that stretches forward to clip onto the trunk lid (where it meets the rear window).

PERRYinLA

Here is another angle, showing the 90 degree tubing & the strap that secures the rack to the trunk-lid.

lex400sc

That's a sweet bike rack. I wonder what your neighbor will think when he see's last week's garbage strapped to the back of your car? hehe. Now if only there was a removable snowboard rack for our car...

PERRYinLA

hi lex400sc- since only a few millimeters of the brass tubing protrudes below the real bumper valence panel, I don't think my neighbor will ever notice!

I've never done this, but the two arms that protrude horizontally from the hoop (that normally support the bike) could have a snowboard tied to it with some bungie cords, so this same setup would definitely work for a snowboard or skiis.

EmeraldLexuSC3

Speaking as a true Mountain Biker, you have a sweet bike!
But I am confused!?
Are you strapping the Lexus to the side of your Bike will heading to the Moutains, or are you taking your Lex to the local park so that you don't have to indure any off road riding with your Bike.
Living close to the Sierras, I rake my 'Baracuda' Bike to the roof of my 4x SUV, bypass our local park And head straight to the Hills towards Yosemite, leaving the Lex in the Gararge.
It makes me wonder; for the ones who have a 4x SUV.. never see the off-roads. And for those who don't.....well, they'll do anything to adapt.
I suggest you get some all-Terrains for the LEX.
But I do applaud you loudly for the efforts!
Keep on Treking

ToyLexmods

Hey,

Something I have always wondered. Why the rear bike racks are not illegal? I mean...they block 50% or more of the rear taillights on most cars. I dont get it.....I cant import a damn ST205 Celica GT4 turbo because of our stupid regulations....but people are running around with objects blocking taillights.

Sorry just my soapbox for the day.

BTW, I am a big time mountain biker....somewhat of a nut. Rides for me last around 4 or 5 hours climbing around 5k feet or so. Also do the Leadville100 and Vail 100 as a yearly task. hehe

PERRYinLA

ToeJam- My only car is the SC400, and living in the heart of Wesside Los Angeles, it is difficult to ride my Mtn Bike to suitable trails. So I use the rack to get my bike to the trails, such as the ones in Aliso Viejo (Orange County).

This is getting off the topic, but I have a street bike, too, which I ride in my local neighborhood. And a 3rd bike for dates.

You are not gonna believe this, but I got that bike in the photos for FREE! My good friend Kam has been an avid Mtn Biker for 6 years, but recently had been losing interest. The last straw came when he put too much loc-tite on the adjustable rear shock bolt, and it froze in place. It was IMMOVABLE- the loc-tite had migrated from the threaded area (good) to the shaft of the bolt and fused with the bushing (bad). Kam is a very resourceful guy, and I am certain he would have figured out how to remove it eventually, but instead he just gave me the bike (he has several others, anyway).

After heating up the bolt with a torch for several minutes, the loc-tite softened to the point where I could punch out the bolt.

lex400sc

ToeJam, where in California are you? I used to ride the trail at Laguna Seca all the time in my old Mongoose Rockadile. Loved that trail. It's been a while...

PERRYinLA

As you can see, I had to bolt an extension to the standard holes to move the mounting point of the horizontal tube. That is because a straight tube won't fit between the standard holes because of the spare tire well. These extensions move the mouning point upward and rearward, to allow a straight tube to fit.

PERRYinLA

Notice the rubber cane tip (!) jammed into the tube. It is made of fairly thick rubber, so the bolt threads through it and holds well.

messysc

Ive got a dirt bike that weighs about 300 pounds, do you think a set up like yours would work?

PERRYinLA

Wow- that's a lot. You might be better off with a trailer hitch!

I have no doubt that the bottom tube would support that weight, but the problem with 300 lbs on my current setup is the strap that goes from the top of the "hoop" to the forward lip of the trunk- there is just a metal clip there that grabs onto the lip.

If you were to hit a bump or accelerate a bit too hard, there might be too much stress on the assembly, causing the strap or clip to break, or the trunk lid itself to distort.

My arrangement might work for you, but every part of it will have to be beefed up to hold 300 pounds. For example, you would want to fabricate a much wider metal clip- one that's 3-8 inches wide and follows the curvature of the forward trunk lip- that would spread the load over a much larger area, and allow a wide, solid strap to be used. I would also cut up some thick wide foam pads into a shape that follows the lip of the bumper, so that some of the downward load is supported by the bumper.