Illusion X MetCraft Racks

[Ballast]

Just purchaced another Wakesetter w/ Illusion X tower w/ the oval MetCraft Racks. My Hyperlite board Murray 138.1 is the only board that will fit with the Parks bindings mounted on it. (i ride all the way out ,23"OC) My other friends Hyperlite boards some same boards but ride one in w/ the mounts WILL NOT FIT on these NEW RACKS. I'm tierd of my friends board haveing to lie arournd the seats and floor. The stupid forks are 8 1/4" -8 3/4" deep so that the board won't seat, it will hit the binding Mounts (HYPERLITE'S "CLAW") Plus the racks are 10 1/2" wide so that again makes it hard for those who ride a smaller stance. I called my dealer and Skylon to expain that i'm not paying for these crappy a** racks if they can't do what their designed to do. So i'm going back and forth with these guys. I might just go back with the "BAT RACK" or "TRIBAL " 7-1/4" deep fork w/ a 8" width, makes more sense. Just Wondering if any of you out there have run into this problem?

[WakeGirl]

If you're going to change racks, look at Titan. I've been running their Cruisers on my boat & the only board that I can't get to fit right is my own, & that's only because I have a really narrow stance. The Skylon stuff that I've used in the past was more problematic, but maybe they've changed that (I don't know). I do really like the quality of the Titan stuff, plus with the lift offs I can just stow the racks when trailering (cuts way down on bugs). JM2C

[Ballast]

Thank You Wake Girl, i'll look into Tian "Cruisers" right now ! George

[WakeGirl]

Thank You Wake Girl, i'll look into Tian "Cruisers" right now ! George

The other Titan products will work as well. They have a Lowrider (although the rubber dipped forks may limit the boards that you can put in that one, I believe it has a narrower fork so the thickness of the board could come into play with that rack) as well as the Battle Axe (made by Titan for Wakeside). I went with the Cruisers because I liked the looks better than the Battle Axe, but I think that the Battle Axe would have a better attachment system for the bungy when used on an Illusion X. Always a trade off. Here's the link to Wakeside's Titan page:

LINK

[stewart]

I looked at Wakegirls Titan racks and they are pretty nice. Very good quality.

Another popular rack choice is Nice Rack.

I have the Metcrafts with the oval black casting and the billet Malibu logo..... And so far, everyones board fits in those racks

[edgeski1]

IMHO Tiaan is the only way to go

They also now have a Illusion specific Swivel rack

Nice Rack Makes Pretty good stuff.

If you want to blow tha bank get the new Carbon, Bungeeless Racks from Malibu

[Ballast]

Thanks guys for your input on the racks .I think i will not rush and swap racks just yet untill i do more research .Today i went down to see the Titan Cruiser Racks and yes it's quality and i've seen the Nice product's also and was impressed. So i'll need to wait untill this new Skylon rack comes out or even get a pic of it and go from there. Thanx Again , George

[skicrave]

Skylon will be releasing a new rack sometime next spring nthat may be worth waiting for. If you want to get something right away, all of the Titan racks from the LowRider to the Battle Rack are well made, and have the same fork spacing.

You could also consider the new Revolution rack. It's very solid, incredibly light, and is bungee free, which is nice.

[RiverRunner]

Nice-Racks...will fit every board we have had on the boat and no board clap what so ever, several designs, have a look in my gallery.

[jpk]

The Metcraft racks are not very user friendly and I have my list of gripes with them as well. The middle fork is very narrow, so when you have two boards in the rack they easily slap against each other if you hit the smallest wake while cruising. The board clap drives me nuts. I also can't stand how the mounting bolts always back out and I'm constantly applying Lock-Tite and re-tigtening the racks.

I have seen the issue with the Hyperlite claw not allowing the board to seat all the way in the rack, but that hasn't really been a huge problem. The board seems to stay in place even if not seated all the way back in the fork. As long as you have it bungied down, it should stay put. I mostly use Liquid Force bindings, so I guess I don't notice as much.

The one thing the Metcraft racks have going for them is that they match the Illusion tower perfectly and look like they are part of the tower. If you don't care about how sweet they look, and you have a chance to return them for a full refund, I'd probably go for it and get the new Carbon Fiber racks, Titan, or Nice Racks.

[Ballast]

Thanks JPK! George A.