Yakima Viper Bike Rack

Massey's Outfitters

THIS HIGH-END RACK IS EXTREMELY POWERFUL AND HAS QUITE A SET OF FANGS. THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED “VIPER” INSTEAD OF “GARTER SNAKE.”

- 9mm stainless steel, lockable, long-throw skewer keeps your bike secure like a baby in a blankey
- Compatible with most disc brakes
- Fits a wide range of wheels and tires
- Quick no-tool installation to avoid ‘are my tools really adequate’ panic attacks
- Ergonomic lever for single-side adjustment

Q: What Maintenance do I need to do?
A: Maintenance is important to keep it working properly and to help it last longer. Apply grease to nuts, screws, bolts, and especially the adjusting nut and lever of the locking skewer. Lubricate locks with graphite. Remove the rack when not in use. Clean the rack periodically, especially in marine environments and where road salt is used.

Q: What is the minimum / maximum distance I can have between my cross bars?
A: The viper will safely fit bar spread from 16” to 42”, however spreads of 16” to 18” are limited to two bikes.

Q: How long is the tray?
A: 39.5 inches

Q: Does it carry all bikes?
A: The viper carries just about any bike with a quick release wheel skewer. However, there are a few exceptions where one of our other mounts should be used instead. These exceptions include, but are not limited to, bikes with triple clamp forks and forks with dropout spacing (the distance between the forks at the tips) other than 100mm.

Q: How many can I carry?
A: That depends on the bikes and vehicle. First check the Fit List to see if there are any specific limitations for your vehicle (using the online Fit List bike mounts may not be offered or a load limit will be states in the notes at the end of the process). In general, you will need about 12 inches of crossbar per bike when mounting them alternately front and rear facing. Barring any other restriction the practical limit is usually 4 bikes.

Q: Can I use this bike mount with a factory rack?
A: Fork style mounts will not mount directly to factory crossbars. The bike mount gets its side to side stability from the crossbar. Fork mounts stress crossbars more than upright styles because of their narrowness. Through testing we have found that factory rack crossbars are not strong enough to handle the stress generated by fork mounts.

Q: Can I get the viper with a short wheeltray?
A: No. The long wheel tray is a feature that makes the viper adaptable to vehicles with short rooflines. The long tray is also an integrated part of the design ( it wouldn’t work without it). If your vehicle has enough crossbar spread, the Boa is a less expensive, short tray alternative.

Q: Why would I go with a fork mount over a “upright” style mount, or vise versa?
A: Some like the aerodynamic look and manageability of a fork mount. Some don’t want to hassle with removing the bike’s front wheel and prefer an upright rack. A bike may have unique features (lefty or triple clamp forks, etc.) that limit bike mount choices, but one or more of our mounts will do the trick to keep your bike secure. Look up the specific bike mount for more details.

Q: I need to carry several bikes. Can I place bikes on the car backwards to get more space?
A: Yes, just remember to turn the bike around before riding it.