Spade: A Super Lightweight Adventure Bike

[Luvnot]

Just brought home my Spade yesterday (Saturday), and I'm super excited to take this little guy on some casual adventures.  It's low enough I can duck-walk through super rough areas, light enough I can literally pick it up and man-handle it out of super deep ruts or over logs, and it's under-powered enough I won't take stupid risks on super rough terrain (which I most definitely would do if I'd bought a TW200 instead).

The plan is to carry this little guy on a hitch across country to explore some of the country's national parks (I'd attach a photo but can't figure out how yet).  The dealer put on the knobby tires, and after riding a few miles today, I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to add a higher set of handlebars (ProTaper high-rise), foot pegs with a little better grip, and something will have to be done about the muffler being so low.

I can handle the handlebars and foot pegs, but does anyone have advice about moving the muffler up a little so I don't have to worry about flooding it in a creek crossing?  I see even the new Grom has after-market support for moving the muffler higher - I just hope someone has an idea how to do the same for the Spade.

[Luvnot]

Over the past week I've dodged the unbearable heat and occasional rain to update the bike a bit.  Updated the headlight, swapped the standard mirrors for fold-down style to make it safer to carry on the back of the van.  And on the tail end, a rear rack and top-box was fitted over the standard cubby compartment.

Found a Moni Moto 7 gps tracker to hide on the bike for a little more piece of mind during the trip.  The tracker isn't fool-proof, but as long as I can get coordinates of its last location, the police should be able to track it down from there.

Can't wait for the weekend to get out to the mountains and ride.  Should be able to get up to the required 200miles so I can get back down to Stanford for the bike's first service. 

[pa-outdoorsman]

Well, I have to say I am intrigued as to how that bike will perform as you intend to use it. Please take lots of pictures and share some as you report back. Good luck!

[Luvnot]

Rode out to Fort Monroe at sunset and got a decent photo.  Now that I've figured out how to upload them, I'll be sure to take more Sunday when I get up into the mountains.  Hope to test the capabilities on some dirt side roads along the Blueridge Parkway.

[Luvnot]

The little Spade and I had our first mini-adventure this weekend up around Waynesboro, VA.  Riding a 60 mile loop around the Blue Ridge Parkway, I was able to find gravel roads, dirt roads, and regular pavement, uphill, downhill, and rolling highway hills.


The bike handled everything very well.  The combination of short wheelbase and tiny wheels make it super nimble and instantly responsive.  And while there were some uphill climbs that might be an issue on a long grade, downshifting allowed the 150cc to keep up every time. 

I still need to work on figuring out how to keep the cameras working on long rides, and remember to take plenty of photos along the way to make up for low battery life.  But overall I would say this first mini-adventure was a huge success! 

Friday is the first 200mile service.  I can't wait until I'm given the green light to really cut loose on this little guy.  Only 3 weeks until the big trip!  Super excited to get out and explore!

[Luvnot]

The little guy had his first (200 mile) service!  Houston, we are ready to launch 

[klaviator]

Your adventure Spade looks like an awesome little bike. 

[Luvnot]

Since I'll be going to a convention during part of my vacation, I decided to see if I could put the Spade into the back of my van so it was "out of sight, out of mind".


I used the ramp from the hitch-carrier and a regular piece of plywood.  Worked like a charm...

https://scontent-lhr8-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/241882657_215452937309885_6786451127002996625_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=HQ2a_bLj3fcAX-5_AQt&tn=q9OcyIq65xYLIzzz&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr8-1.xx&oh=c0286297251f60b96abc077730b4347d&oe=616993CC

[Luvnot]

not sure why the second image didn't appear in the last post, but here's the Spade sitting snug inside the van.

[Luvnot]

Got my hand guards (Trackside from Cycle Gear) and SEE ME flag-pole (generic from Amazon) installed.  I'm using a generic pair of large dog saddlebags, which fit surprisingly well.  The belly strap cinches under the tail section perfectly.  They will hold the tire patch kit, small tool kit and first-aid kit.  The outside bungies will hold an MSR style fuel bottle and a water bottle.  The box on the back will hold a small tire air pump, rain gear, and whatever snack stuff I want to take during the off-road explorations.


This will be it for kitting out the Spade.  Wish I had time to build a skid plate, but right now I'm under a time crunch to make sure everything else is in place for the trip.  Looking forward to getting out of here and seeing new places!