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My fiancee and I bought a '13 MCS back in July. We ordered the roof rack and have two of the fork mounted bike racks for our road bikes. My issue is, I mounted one of them the other night only to discover that the bike platform is long enough that if you open the hatch, the spoiler hits the back of it.
Has anyone else encountered this problem? Any brilliant solutions?
I'm tempted to pull the rubber plug out of the back and have the length of the bike platform trimmed down a half inch or so to give full clearance, otherwise I'll have to pad the end of the bike rack so that it doesn't damage the spoiler everytime you open the hatch.
Based on photos, it appears the Thule racks aren't as long. Our dealer gave us one of the OEM ones for free with the car, which is the only reason we didn't go that aftermarket route.
That's sort of a known issue with the S models, due to the spoiler. When I had my R56 (I have a Countryman now), I had a non-S, and the spoiler is shorter, so there was no issue. I have heard of people cutting down the bike trays so there is no issue. I have also seen pics from people who mount the trays backward to avoid this (rear wheel at the front and fork at the back of the car). I'm not a fan of the backward trays, but to each their own. You may want to investigate other trays to see if there is a fitment issue. On my R56, I had Yakima Forklift trays, and they seemed a bit shorter. I have Rocky Mounts trays now.
Thanks ASK. I thought about mounting it backwards, and I'll probably go that route as a bandaid fix until I can find a clean way to shorten the tray. It's definitely needlessly long, as even my 58 cm Madone is a full 12+ inches shorter than the rail.
It seems silly that of all the bike racks on the market, it's the OEM one that bumps the spoiler. C'est la vie.
I have Rocky Mounts trays and I cut mine about 2 inches as I recollect. (Measure twice, cut once!) I used a skillsaw with a fine tooth blade for cutting aluminum, put the rubber plug back in and voila! I haul road bikes, TT bikes and MTB and no contact with the rails. The tires of a mounted bike will hit, so unload first. I think they all come in a standard length no matter the maker. Thule may be the OEM supplier?
I also had that problem running the thule echelon 518 trays on the OEM rack. I drive a s model with a justa wing and even after taking a bit off the back of the tray it still hit. The problem is the thule trays are designed to work with the thule rack which mounts further up, closer to the windshield. I am now running the mini touring trays when is the thule criterium. Love them!
Went ahead and "modified" the rack today. For anyone with interest in the future, I pulled the end caps off (more on this later) and cut off 1.75" from the end of the rack with a hacksaw (if you have a skill saw, that'd be even better). I then re-installed the caps and mounted on the car, and the hatch can now open all the way while leaving just a quarter inch or so of space between the spoiler and the rack.
Removing the caps was a challenge. I got one off fairly easily by just putting a rag over it and using some pliers. The other one was much more difficult. I ended up cutting the excess off with the hacksaw and then pretty much destroying the aluminum around the cap with a hammer and flat head screwdriver in order to free it. I tried heating it up to get it to expand, and hot water, and soap/penetrating oil, and nothing would free it up. If you have an angle grinder, that's probably the way to go but I don't have a lot of power tools lying around, so I had to go more caveman on it.
Went ahead and "modified" the rack today. For anyone with interest in the future, I pulled the end caps off (more on this later) and cut off 1.75" from the end of the rack with a hacksaw (if you have a skill saw, that'd be even better).
I did the same thing a few weeks ago. Had a heck of a time removing the cap (actually broke it a little) but I was still able to get it back in after I trimmed off about 2 inches from the bike tray. It's odd because I originally got a fork mounted bike tray from the dealer last august, but had to replace it a month ago due to an accident. Same exact part number, but the '2013 version' of the fork mounted tray was longer - and it hit the spoiler like you mentioned. I called the dealer and they gave me some BS about it being a "manufacturer defect" with the newer fork mounted tray, and to just turn the tray around and mount the bike with the rear wheel facing forward. I tried that for a day and it was way more unstable. Not a fan of my bike bouncing around on my car. Cutting it seems to be the best solution.
Yep, we mounted the bikes backward over the weekend and it was clear that they were not as stable as they should be, so it was an easy decision to bust out the saw. There is really no reason for the racks to be that long. The only thing I can suspect is they are identical to the BMW racks which presumably are engineered for larger cars and thus, they never noticed the significant design flaw on the Cooper S.
I haven't seen these, but my Yakima trays don't have any kind of end cap - just open ended. Could you just smooth up the end after cutting and dab a little black paint and be done? (Curious, as I plan to buy this rack soon and I don't think my particular Yakima mounts, "Steelheads", will work with the MINI rack.)
It's MINIs way to keep you tied into buying the MINI accessories.
Most Thule trays will require washers to keep the t bolts in the OEM rack. The t slots on the OEM rack have wider openings than the thule racks. I even had to modify my touring (thule criterium) tray for driver side mounting so it would mirror image the passenger side. The reversible mounting design wasn't really thought out that well IMO.
I haven't seen these, but my Yakima trays don't have any kind of end cap - just open ended. Could you just smooth up the end after cutting and dab a little black paint and be done? (Curious, as I plan to buy this rack soon and I don't think my particular Yakima mounts, "Steelheads", will work with the MINI rack.)
You don't have to put the caps back on (they are form, not function). Black paint probably wouldn't add anything. You'd definitely want to smooth it up with a metal file and be sure that the spoiler didn't hit it anymore, otherwise you'd have instant scratching.
If I were going to do it over again, I'd use an electric saw of some kind to make quick work of the 1.75 inch shortening, then with the same or similar cutting tool cut away the metal surrounding the cap. Then smooth up the ends of the newly shortened rack, make sure it's a nice flat surface, and tap the caps back in place. Would look just like new.
I haven't seen these, but my Yakima trays don't have any kind of end cap - just open ended. Could you just smooth up the end after cutting and dab a little black paint and be done? (Curious, as I plan to buy this rack soon and I don't think my particular Yakima mounts, "Steelheads", will work with the MINI rack.)
I think your Steelheads probably won't work very easily. You'd have to get pretty creative. I like Rocky Mounts real well. Euro Pitchfork. Made for the cross bar and they also come in colors that may match or contrast your roof color, or not!
You don't have to put the caps back on (they are form, not function). Black paint probably wouldn't add anything. You'd definitely want to smooth it up with a metal file and be sure that the spoiler didn't hit it anymore, otherwise you'd have instant scratching.
If I were going to do it over again, I'd use an electric saw of some kind to make quick work of the 1.75 inch shortening, then with the same or similar cutting tool cut away the metal surrounding the cap. Then smooth up the ends of the newly shortened rack, make sure it's a nice flat surface, and tap the caps back in place. Would look just like new.
I used a Skilsaw with a fine tooth blade. I used painters tape on the rail so I didn't scratch them and made my measurements and marks on the tape after taking the cap off. After the cut, the cap tapped back in with no issue. If there are any ruff edges, particularly on the inside, run a file in there and use a block of wood if you don't have a soft head hammer of some kind. It is really easy to do. Or buy the MINI ones and cut them? Trays are kind of like a lot of things. All made in one factory from one stock, treated a little different and private labeled. Pretty standard item. If I can offer any assistance to you guys, happy to help anyway I can.
I came across this thread about shortening the bike carriers as I was checking on details having just purchased a couple.
I am just laughing out loud about people trying to take the end caps off. Has it occurred to no one that the way to shorten the carrier is from the front.
Remove the fork holder from the front end of the carrier
(loosen one hex bolt and slide off)
Cut the required amount off the front end of the carrier.
Replace the Fork Mount
I had same problem when I mounted to my new F55 when I followed the manufacturers directions. I moved the front crossbar ahead 1" and problem solved. I have a Rocky Mounts tandem carrier that Fit on Clubman, bit I will have to mount it backwards on F55. I will post pic when we have the tandem on the car.
09-18-2013, 10:10 AM
