roof rack? bike rack?

Guest · May 23, 2005

Hi there

I am a Porsche 944 '89 turbo owner & am trying to find a roof rack or bike rack that will fit.. anyone any ideas where i get one? Halfords say thule no longer make one for a 944 & a bike rack would not fit due to the spoiler..
Can anyone tell me different?

Many thanks

Dom.

Lemon · May 23, 2005

Take both wheels off and it will fit in the back no problem.
Even with the back seats in the upright position.
With the rear seats folded you can easily accomodate two mountain bikes.

Then you have no drag for the drive home and you can have some fun in the twisty bits on the way home from your ride [

]

Cheers

Lee

Guest · May 23, 2005

[

] thanks lee
I have put a bike in the back & ur right it does fit well. THing is i need to carry two 'racers' & want a bit of boot space/passenger seat aswell. I realise i may be asking 4 a bit much on a sports car but i think it must be possible somehow![8|]!! ;-)

Fen · May 23, 2005

Very occasionally you can find a 944 roof rack system on eBay. I bought the last one available in the UK a few years ago after Porsche Cars GB dumped their stock with some independent parts suppliers.

Even with the proper bars it's still a problem as they are quite far apart; too much so for the Thule bike carrier attachments. Universal bars will not fit because the rear bar mounts with unique brackets to the two bolts you can see inside the hatch shut near the top. Even the front bar is quite unique with big rubber pads to take the weight and a clamp that wraps into the door shut to hold them on.

I still have most of the front bar in the garage and it would still work but the rear was totally destroyed some time ago. I can confirm that Lee is correct; 2 mountain bikes fit in the back relatively easily, even with (say) some camping gear for a week at a major French motorsport event or similar [&:]

944turboS · May 23, 2005

Watch out on e-bay & the classified adverts in 911World & PP the Porsche original racks are still out there but seem to be holding thier price, but still should be no more than a Thule system from Helfords.

Guest · May 23, 2005

thanks for your advice guys..
I may try getting two 'racer' bikes in at the same time as not tried yet..it seems that
even if i did manage to get a roof rack the bike carrier attachments would not work..[

]
I still reckon that a bike rack may work over the spoiler..anyone ever tried one?

Diver944 · May 23, 2005

I reckon if you had a bridge spoiler then the straps for a tailgate rack would fit under the spoiler.

However I'd be VERY nervous of the hatch shattering when taking the weight of two bikes over bumps

Guest · May 23, 2005

Yes, a bike rack does fit over the rear spoiler. I have had one on there once, and was extremely careful driving as i didn't really trust it against the glass either.

Have you tried the Thule website, and then gone to a few of the german or swedish dealers?

Mikie_gb · May 24, 2005

Having raced and sold Cannondale mountain bikes, be very careful with any type of rack. I have seen every single type break or cause damage to the cars. (roofrack, towbar and clamp on)

I can fit two adult mountain bikes (one full suspension) in the back with the seat down without damaging the interior. Frames in first, wheels on top. Pad as required. I personally wouldn't use an external rack again, here being the reason:

Fiat x-19 Dented boot lid, bent engine cover up.
Golf - Dented rear body panel, damaged bumper
Audi- badly dented rear number plate panel.
Ford Escort- front carrier snapped, bike hit boot lid.
Merc- no damage. used a trailer with five bikes in it, two bikes in the boot.

Other twits
BMW M3- carrier snapped bike dragged along road at 90 mph. Not me, some idiot cutomer. Warranty claim? told him to get comprehensively lost.
Jetta- Border control boom not raised enough.... one snapped aluminium boom. Tirade in the vernacular ensuded. Glad it wasn't me as a strip search of the car ensuded.

Most damage occurs due to the wind load on the bikes denting panels not designed for such loads placed on them by the racks. Another massive problem was obscured taillights and number plates giving plod some pencil licking moments.

944Turbo · May 24, 2005

The Porsche one

Fen · May 24, 2005

Indeed it is.

They are quite strong IMO - we had been "making progress" through France at steadily increasing pace, and since the UK end was chasing a 993TT that wasn't exactly dawdling we must have been something in excess of 110mph with 2 mountain bikes on the roof and no ill effects. It was the supermarket walkway canopy that proved a bit much for it...

Mikie_gb · May 25, 2005

110mph with 2 mountain bikes

I suppose the worst that can happen is that you end up with an Inspector Clouseau after you for road racing another Porsche with a bike stuck in his wind shield.

I suspect you might be up for taking club members parasailing around the Nurbergring. The bridge might be a problem though. So might be the uplift on the rear wheels.