can you put a hitch on that thing?  If so, hitch rack with a minimialist one-up is the way to go.  you definitely don't want a roof rack on that car.

Get in touch with Eric Hagerty on Facebook or here called crackednipples.
He has done a couple of his BMW's with hitch mount racks. Takes a little customizing but the results look great and much better than a roof rack or trunk rack.

ciao
Santana

Can't you just hire someone to meet you at the trailhead with your bike?.....JK....

FredRubble wrote on 08/22/16 at 8:50pm:


  Boy that'd be nice. I've got a shirt i wear to car shows that's "Yeah my car is expensive, that's why I'm broke".

I've looked at the roof racks and i like the way the Thule square bar looks with the big mouth bike rack on it, but all totalled up it'd be well into 600 bucks to do it. This is the 335i so a hitch rack is next to impossible without cutting and welding into the rear of the chassis.

Skaufma0 wrote on 08/24/16 at 5:14am:


Are you sure?  I seen class 1 hitches screwed into the bottom of a trunk.  If fact I had a friend with a 3 or 5 series (he went through so many BMWs I'm not sure which one this happened to) that he ripped a hole in his trunk when he used a 4 bike carrier on the way to the beach.  If you're not sure, call a hitch installer like U-Haul, but don't plan on carrying 4 bikes. 

Also, roof racks even without bikes on them kill your gas milage.   

Here's one from eTrailer--had to guess on the year.

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I have both on my car as I started with the hitch rack.  I have a 14' Corolla, so not near as nice as your car but my hitch attached the same way the one Nuke posted does.  Had the same setup on an 04' Corolla and loaded 2-3 bikes on it multiple times with zero issues.  If you do not want a permanent option like the roof rack I think the hitch style is a great option.  FWIW though my roof rack did take me from 33mpg combined mileage to 30mpg.  I ride often though and LOVE the simplicity of just tossing my bikes on the roof rack and heading out.  As with everything....  It's give and take.

Nuke wrote on 08/24/16 at 2:40pm:


Yeah the 335i has the twin-turbo l6 with dual exhaust, the exhaust blocks what would be the mounting points for a hitch. I could relocate the exhaust by swapping to an m3 exhaust, but that would be quite a pricey project on its own.

Here is an example of what I was thinking on the roof idea (if I can find one cheap enough). That's why I'm trying to find a spot locally that sells them. The trunk rack is definitely out, I'm not trying to scratch anything when I can avoid it. I don't think it looks half bad right?


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I've seen plenty of BMWs that look great with roof racks, but they're usually sedans.  Roof racks sometimes look odd on coupes because the bike portion sticks so far back over the roof.

I've had roof racks on my car for close to 10 years and I love them. Although, like many others are here, my bikes are worth far more than my car.

Skaufma0 wrote on 08/24/16 at 5:14am:


Actually Curt ind. makes a receiver hitch for the 335i. I have a 2008 that I just put on the Curt 11756. It took me about 2 hours and cost just a bit over $200.00. I already had a 1-up rack.

Saw what appeared to be a BMW I8 this weekend at Dupont. Had a MTB on the roof. It was held in place with suction cups on the paint and rear window. 

Something just didn't seem right seeing a $140K car with a MTB stuck on it.

Enoch wrote on 08/28/16 at 10:45pm:


Somethings just shouldn't be done.... lol  If you can afford a $140k car, you can afford a 2k beater truck to toss your mtn bike in.

After playing around with the car and the bike this weekend I was able to figure out I can lay the rear seats completely flat and fit the bike in the trunk if I take the front wheel off. For now that will be good enough until I can figure out a more permanent solution. While I don't relish the idea of putting a rack on it, the other options just aren't appealing to me.

And if that hitch mount would work that'd be great, except the issue would then be when I put it on coilovers I'm not sure it would clear a grasshopper, haha. Granted that's a fair bit down the road.

And like a few of you mentioned getting a beater truck, I actually have a buddy at work who is selling a '00 Ranger Sport with 200k for 3 grand. I'm now just debating whether to spend the 3k on that or a new bike! 

santana wrote on 08/30/16 at 1:19am:


I was just in the process of typing him a message!