Anyone know if an average sized mountain bike will fit in the trunk if you take off the front wheel? Anyone tried? I really don't want to get a rack.

 

I very much doubt it. Maybe if you take both wheels off.
I'm looking for a hitch and a hitch mounted rack instead but having no luck so far.

 

Yes it will. my father does it all the time.take off the front wheel and turn the handle bars and slide it right in.

 

Yet another reason why I miss a fold-down seat. Can someone at Honda/Acura explain why the TL doesn't have one... (other than "shortsightedness" or "laziness").

 

i have a specialized Rockhopper FSR comp, and i can put the bike in by taking the front wheel off. When I was doing that the front wheel would always be rubing with brake because i could never get it on right... anywho i got a hitch put on my TL, it works pretty well. Definatly an eye catcher when an Anthracite with tinted windows and a bike rack conected to a hitch passes you by.

U-Haul does hitches, but I have had bad experiences with them. I went with Eckhart instead.

 

Before ordering 04TL, I thought the folddown rear seat was one necessary key feature my new car should have. However, I sacrificed it for this great vehicle.

04Accord has it, right? Since Honda uses the identical chassis to build these two cars, perhaps, the body structure of 04TL is the reason prohibiting our rear seat folding down. Without the connecting metal/bars behind the rear seat, the body structure will require some new modification to enhance its regidity. ?? We don't know why Acura wouldn't spend time to think about this...

 

We have heard ppl saying some 04TLs with this for a long time, but I've never seen it since Oct...

Although I personally don't want to tow anything behind my car, I believe you have done the great jobs to make this set up in your car. You seem to cut off some rear deflector...

Also, is this the heavy duty hitch able to tow the boat? You weld it to the chassis?

Thanks.





BTW, your car is so clean underneath... unbelievably new...

 

well i had it installed... they kindve pissed me off saying that they wouldnt cut anything, but when i got the car back i see this nice cut in the car, they could have made it smaller in my opinion.

No it isnt the heavy duty one. If i went that route there would be a bar right behind it to take the extra weight, but the one that i have is welded onto the chasis and i think rated for 200 pounds for weight exurted down on the conection.

 

neogeek,

I have a specialized enduro pro. When you take the front wheel off can you fit the rest of the bike in the trunk and still be able to close the trunk? I just looked at trunk racks and looking to get a Mighty Joe from Yakima. Was looking at the hitch but looking for a bolt on. Thanks.

 

I have a 21" Trek Y-33, and a 19" Trek Y-22. Putting them in the trunk is not an option for me. IS there a good universal style bike rack that we can use with the TL without having to install a hitch?

 

hehe take a look around, there are some sacrifices you have to make for the display of a 2 inch square behind your car. I would rather have that, then nice fine rub lines from either roof mounted or trunk mounted bike racks.

I just upgraded to the Yakima SlickRoc 4, comming from a Hollywood Traveler... much better, especialy with the folding extensions and lock built into the rack, my bike aint going nowhere when it is on that thing.

Tekageek, well thats what i was doing before, but i didnt like having to realign the front wheel every time, the rack is much faster, and keeps my trunk open for all my other equipment

 

Hey, we should get together for a ride sometime. Anybody else in So Cali?

 

Wow!!
Are you the only one who had a hitch put on their TL?
I went to every place in town and no one would toch mine.
I need to come up with a solution before the spring.

I have a roof-rack on my 98 TL for a while but I won't be doing that on my TL.

 

I have not been able to get my bike to fit in there. Thus, I am at the mercy of my SUV driving friends!

 

well its hard to explain but if you have seen pimp my ride, Eckart is sortve the West Coast Customs of hitch installers. When i was there they were working on a 350Z with a retracable hydrolic hitch that when not in use, hid in the car. They are amazing, so i dont know the equivalent place in CT.

csunracer: yea after all this college app crap is finished, a morning on the trails would be awsome.

One thing to note about a hitch on the car.... tis about 60 of permanent weight on your car, so your tires are goi going to get a little more wear (you have seen pics of mine, but that wear is not entirely because of the hitch), also when taking the turns its a bit more planted.

I had my yakima with two bikes on, and could definatly feel a difference in ride, the rear was bouncing all over the place, so just dont forget that our cars werent made to have hitches to tow stuff...

 

Neogeek: Cool, keep me posted. I'm dying to go out on the trails again. It's been a while.

 

this was a concern of mine too.i really wanted the fold down seats for snowboarding season. however i had to make the sacrifice, the TL was just a great car for the money. so i ooped for a roof rack instead.