I have the bike rack that fits within the trunk, and am extremely satisfied thus far. I've had no issues transporting 2 bikes. Unfortunately, I have no pics, but I'm sure PeterNYC will take a couple for ya! Hint, hint! :)

ha ha i will when i get the roof rack mounted...this weekend, i'm hoping.

how is the trunk rack Rasta? is there room for other gear? And, worse, do you get grease from the cranks, gear rings and chain on the interior?

umm, so was I ... ;)

There isn't much room for much other than the bikes, unfortunately. In addition, you have to lower the rear seats for the bikes to fit, so you can only transport 2 adults and 2 bikes. Thus far (since '04), I've had no significant mess....I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way! Looking forward to the pics, and when next I use mine, I'll post pics as well!

Yes, that is what i suspected was the "issue" with the internal racks...
This weekend i got my road bike into the cargo area without having to fold down the seats....Had to take off the front and rear tires, however....But had plenty of room for me and two other passengers and all our bags for a long weekend.....Just a little more work putting the bike back together (i had to remove the seat as well)

I wrapped the frame and tires in an old moving company blanket and just bungeed it in place...Worked like a charm

I have been searching for a bike rack to use. The hitch and bike rack combo are expensive - but so is the top rack plus I would think that loading and unloading bike would be . . . difficult to say the least:yikes:. My '06 X3 doesn't even have the cutout like my '04 did so in order to install a hitch I would have to cut that fascia. I've seen it done (posted here) but I don't know if I'm that brave especially since I'm leasing. I haven't actually seen any X3's or X5's with the roof rail bike rack and wonder if anyone has had any experience with them and what it's been like.

This may be crazy, but I am going to try creating a hitch mounted bike rack from a left over hitch ball holder thingy (ahh, the part that goes into the 2" receiver that the ball mounts on), and parts found at a home improvement center. Should work just fine and cost around $60. I will post instructions when I get around to doing it.

Unless most of you guys are road bikers, the Roof rack works great being that my dirty bike will be on top.

I'm a road biker and use a roof rack, so....To me it's the best solution...bike is up and out of the way (any rack that goes over the back door is going to limit access to the rear of the vehicle) and, yes, if the bike is ditry, roof is best place for it

With a road bike it's lighter and easier to get it up there than some old heavy. clunky off road hog ;)

I'm actually working on making my own as well - only I'm going the inside route. I found some pics on the net of the internal bike rack from BMW and it doesn't look to complicated. I've already got the cross rails made and am working on the track that the bike actually sits in. I even made a special bracket that holds the front forks. I'll post some pics when/if I can get it figured out. I'm pretty sure I've found the pieces I need and now just need to get it done. It may not look the prettiest when I'm done, but it should function well. It will use the internal rail hooks as well to help hold the bike in place, but iall should work relatively well. We'll see . . .