Yakima Bike Racks

Yakima has been a highly reputable company in the manufacturing of high-quality racks and other bike accessories worldwide for, nearly, the past four decades. They are known for their superior build quality and innovative design which allows them to last for a very long time due to their durability. The company’s products have been tested, approved, and rated by cycling enthusiasts. Yakima’s track record is so impressive that in 1984, their bike racks were used by many competing cyclists in the Olympics. These high-quality racks will give you an easy way to load or unload your bike within a few minutes, making it a very comfortable process. They are compatible with any car hitch and are fairly secure - they use a security system that involves the use of security locking cables to safely lock the bike to the rack and prevent theft. And they are relatively cheaper when compared to other brands.

The maximum static weight rating is 600lbs (272kg). For applications in custom and unlisted vehicles, it’s up to the installer to determine the maximum weight. The dynamic load for the bars should not exceed 165lbs (75kg).

Yakima Bike Racks are manufactured in some countries. Yakima has factories in Australia, Taiwan, and Mainland China. There is also an assembly in Southern California, USA, where the production of cargo boxes and some final fitting work happens.

Yes, Yakima and Thule racks are interchangeable. Yakima will work on Thule and Thule will work on Yakima. Only the shape of the crossbar and the attachment style of the accessories to the crossbars have to be considered.

Your order is to be dispatched within 24 business hours. You should expect the delivery time to vary between 2-5 business days for metro areas and 7-14 business days for rural and remote areas. If you choose the fast shipping option, your order is usually delivered the next business day (metro areas).

- Your lock is unlocked:

Take your Control Key (the uncut key that comes with the lock) and remove the lock core to retrieve the key number from inside it. Once removed, the code will be on the side or back of the core.

- Your lock is locked:

Either you will have your rack and lock number registered and can contact us for help, or you’ll need to get the help of a locksmith. Once unlocked, repeat the same process as stated above.

- Find your vehicles specific M measurements in your Q-clip instructions; if your vehicle isn’t on the list, check it online.
- Before installing the Q towers, clean your vehicle's surface.
- Open the tower housing and loosen the bar clamp screw so the crossbar can slide through.
- Place the crossbars and towers on a flat surface; measure them, and tighten your tower onto the bars using the M1 front bar and M3 rear bar measurements.
- Apply downward pressure on the crossbar while tightening.
- Attach the end caps and firmly place the Q pads onto the bottom of the Q towers.
- Double check the M measurements for both crossbars.
- Open the vehicle doors and place the towers and bars onto the roof of the vehicle.
- Measure from where the paint ends at the windshield to the front edge of the tower using the M2 measurements.
- Line the Q clips with the vinyl pads and insert the clips right into the cam lever.
- Take the lock housing and insert through the hole in the cam body and slide the anchor clips right into place.
- Loosen the adjustment posts on each of the towers for little pressure when closing the cam lever.
- Always double check the M2 measurements before tightening.
- Increase the tension on the adjustment knob only using half-turns.
- Adjust one side at a time and close the cam cover after each increase in tension.
- Walk back and forth between the two towers to ensure they’re balanced.
- Check to see if the gold slider is between the hash marks on the tower housing. The gold slider must be aligned with the opposite towers’ gold slider to apply equal pressure across both towers.
- Close the cam cover with firm resistance.
- Check the Q clips by pulling outward on the clip (with the car doors open, and the cam levers closed).
- Grab the crossbar inside the tower, push and pull using only arm strength to make sure that they’re seated properly. If any of the clips and towers move, be sure to check the gold slider for proper position.
- Double check the M measurements and make sure that both towers have equal pressure on the doorframe.
- Place the rear crossbar using the M4 measurement; measure from the center of the crossbar and install the rear crossbar using the same process as the front crossbar. Balancing the tension on each of the towers is critical to getting a solid fit. If one is too tight, the whole system will loosen as you load the rack.
- Make sure the measurements are precise and the gold sliders are balanced and aligned between the hash marks.
- Make sure the clips are seated properly and the crossbar doesn’t move.
- Finally, install the SKS lock cores.

- Unlock the lock with your SKS key.
- Grab on both sides of the outer cover and pull it off.
- Pull down on the small rubber tab and an hexagonal bolt that connects to the main assembly will be revealed.
- Take the wrench that came with your rack and loosen up the bolt, then pull it out.
- Grab the small rubber tab again and apply force upward and then outward. This will allow you to just pull the rack right off your vehicle.
- Complete the same process on both sides.

- Take the hitch piece and insert into the hitch receiver.
- Line up the holes and insert the safety pin.
- Tighten the speedknob.
- Take the mast piece, line up the holes with the hitch piece and insert the bolt.
- Tighten the safety knob.
- Finally, use your SKS key and lock it.

- Take your SKS key and unlock the lock.
- Loosen the safety knob.
- Loosen the bolt and remove it.
- Take out the Mast piece.
- Loosen the speedknob.
- Remove the safety pin.
- Finally, take out the hitch piece from the hitch receiver.

Have a locksmith pick the lock. After it’s unlocked, take your Control Key and remove the lock core to check the number inside. You can then proceed to order replacements and continue with these steps:

- Grab both sides of the outer cover and pull it off.
- Pull down on the small rubber tab and a hexagonal bolt that connects to the main assembly will be revealed.
- Take the wrench that came with your rack and loosen up the bolt, then pull it out.
- Grab the small rubber tab again and apply force upward and then outward. This will allow you to just pull the rack right off your vehicle.
- Complete the same process on both sides.

Over the last three decades, several different towers have been made for different vehicles. Each one of them used clips to attach the towers to the vehicles. Each clip is exclusive to a tower and they are not interchangeable.

1C-SST Towers (1987-1996) – Used Y-Clips, which are no longer available.

Q-Towers (1993-2018) – Used Q-Clips, which are being discontinued.

Baseline Tower (2016-X) – Use the BaseClip.

To find out what towers and clips will work for your vehicle, please check here.