# can you make/fake old yakima Y-tower clips?



## capt pearl (Mar 10, 2004)

see, here's the prob. my old skewl (apparently, when exactly did I get so old skewl, I mumble to myself. doddering, even) rack, which works fine, has apparently been bypassed on the Superhighway of American Economic Life, in quest of teh BBD. So my friggin new "clips" to attach to my honda dont fit my perfectly fine (other than being none reverse -forward?- compatable) existing rack.

But I'm looking at my old clips (made for rain gutters) and my new clips and I'm thinking, how hard would it be to have a machine shop make this? I mean, if I can find one interested in a silly lowbuck gig, it shouldn't be a prob at all.

Anyone try this or have a better suggestion?

Gratzi in advance and if not, thanks for playing, drink more [insert product here].

-capt p


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## ernesto_from_Wisconsin (Jan 12, 2004)

*rüf racks make me nervous*



capt pearl said:


> But I'm looking at my old clips (made for rain gutters) and my new clips and I'm thinking, how hard would it be to have a machine shop make this? I mean, if I can find one interested in a silly lowbuck gig, it shouldn't be a prob at all.
> 
> Anyone try this or have a better suggestion?
> 
> ...


I'd suggest this: www.badgerrack.com. Sell your old Yawakamaka and install an hitch. I have been witness of roof rack atrocities...busted bikes, etc. And gas mileage is so compromised with a roof rack.


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## capt pearl (Mar 10, 2004)

*cool rack, but...*

... it's $310 + the cost of a hitch. dude, i'll pop $120 for new towers before I can cough up closer to 5 bills.

So, if anyone hears of a pair of pairs of Yakima Y-50s, I'm yer boy. And I'll spot you a 6 of good beer, yer choice.

bestus,

-capt p


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

*so you have the old style towers*

and now you can't get the old style clips to fit your new car? izzat right?

i wouldn't fu ck around with trying to have someone make you a custom y clip. think about the risk v. reward you're looking at here. imagine yourself, with your beloved bike on the roof, and a friend's ride, too. you're on the way to a ride, on the freeway, perhaps, doing 70 mph, when your custom y clips let go of your roof, scratch up the same, and deposit your bikes and rack on the hood of that jackass in the $85,000 mb 500sl that's been tailgating you for the last five minutes. someone could be killed. and if no one was hurt, the property damage could be astounding. all this to save $100 on new towers?

shell out for a new set of q towers for a hundo and then get the proper clips.


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## pacman (Jan 16, 2004)

*Y50 here*



capt pearl said:


> ... it's $310 + the cost of a hitch. dude, i'll pop $120 for new towers before I can cough up closer to 5 bills.
> 
> So, if anyone hears of a pair of pairs of Yakima Y-50s, I'm yer boy. And I'll spot you a 6 of good beer, yer choice.
> 
> ...


so you're looking for the Y50 exactly?

google pointed here -> http://www.bikepro.com/ad_copy/yakima.html

I've gone to van interior and hitch mount exclusively. My yaks just gather dust.


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## RickD. (Apr 7, 2004)

*Y-19's???*

I have two pair of Y-19 clips, brand new, which I know fit a 90-93 Integra. If this works for you, let me know.
Rick
[email protected]


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## capt pearl (Mar 10, 2004)

*yup. y50s.*



pacman said:


> so you're looking for the Y50 exactly?
> 
> google pointed here -> http://www.bikepro.com/ad_copy/yakima.html
> 
> I've gone to van interior and hitch mount exclusively. My yaks just gather dust.


the link led to beyond bikes which has no more "Y" clip stock.

thanks for the lead.

-capt p


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## dodjy (Mar 3, 2004)

*Keep an eye open on Ebay for the clips of interest!*

You should be able to find the ones you need.

As for the hitch mount bike rack... plenty of atrocities there too, not to mention the surplus of road grit accumulated in the turbulence zone of the vehicle.

Hope this helps!

dd..''


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## DJflite (Feb 20, 2004)

capt pearl said:


> But I'm looking at my old clips (made for rain gutters) and my new clips and I'm thinking, how hard would it be to have a machine shop make this? I mean, if I can find one interested in a silly lowbuck gig, it shouldn't be a prob at all.
> 
> Anyone try this or have a better suggestion?
> 
> -capt p


To Capt Pearl, To All:

I've done some extensive mods on my own system (the circa 1988/89 non-gutter mount setup) and have now been using it for almost a decade with no problems. As you may know, the original gutterless system for Yakima involved a big rubber padded foot that fit over the 1A tower, and a multi-hole clip made out of flexible sheet steel. When I wanted to mount it to a '95 Toyota Corolla with gutters, I first took the rubber padded feet off--30 seconds. Then I did a quick test fit of the racks on the car to see how much lower on the clips new holes would have to be drilled, as well as seeing how far off the bend of the clip itself was around the door jamb. I then took the rack off, drilled 3 new sets of hole in each clip (just to give myself room for later changes), and then oh-so-carefully with a 20-ounce framing hammer and a vise, custom-formed the clip to the new door shape. The whole project took about 2-3 hours, and I've carried 4 bikes with wheels on multiple multi-hour highway trips with no problem.

I'm not sure if the clips on your system will allow for such alterations, but it might well be worth a try. Since you're posting in the single-speed section, I'm assuming you have at least some love of DIY and custom, one-off, handmade (in this case, yours) work.

Best of luck, and as always: ride smart, stay safe, have fun.

Sincerely,
Dahron Johnson

e: [email protected]
p: 336.218.0892


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