The 390 Adventure Project – Day One in the Dirt

Cait Maher
by Cait Maher

Sedlak Off-Road School Adventure Bike Training

Photos by Daniel Sedlak

Throwing the 390 Adventure into some dirt at the bottom of a hill wasn’t ideal, but as I was nearly at a complete stop, it wasn’t the dramatic dismount I had pictured when worrying about the training I was in the midst of. My friend Hailey was cruising down the trail after me and coasted to a stop as I hit the kill switch and turned to look at the bike, splayed across the silty clay colored dirt like a bright orange toy. Another rider stopped just ahead of us, throwing his kickstand down and yelling ‘I’ll get it” over the sound of other passing bikes. “Don’t help me!” I yelled back. This was the first time the bike had been on its side and I was eager to see how it felt to pick up 387 pounds of small adventure bike. Grasping the handlebar closest to the ground and the grab bar at the back of the seat, I was surprised when the bike lifted clear of the dirt on the first try, and with a pause and some extra effort, it was vertical again a few seconds later. Maybe she’s born with it... maybe it was the adrenaline. I didn’t get a chance to test the theory again during the full day ADV Class I was participating in, though if that was due to skill or caution, we’ll never know.


I had clocked about 500 street miles on the KTM 390 ADV before turning up at the Sedlak ADV training set in Campo, California, so while I felt relatively comfortable with the bike on pavement, the combination of dirt and dirt gear had me a little nervous for how the day was going to go. I had taken Sedlak’s class once before at Over and Out Moto in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, so while I had an idea of what basics the class may cover, I had no idea if any of my previous dirt experience would translate into usable skill on a proper adventure bike. This bike was almost a full 100 pounds heavier than my previous dirt-scoot: a 2021 Yamaha TW200. And while I’ve had a turn or two on some bigger off-road motorcycles, I hadn’t really been able to put in consistent time and effort to see progression in my riding skills on those bikes.


Hopefully this was all going to change. As I donned my layers of riding gear in the chilly SoCal morning, a few dozen other riders had assembled in the staging area, all with a decent assortment of Ducati, Yamaha, and even Honda adventure bikes lined up in the dirt. My 390 Adventure was definitely one of the smaller bikes present, though not the only KTM.

Sometimes trailside creativity is part of the skillset! KTM PowerParts Suspension tool is a great kickstand extender.

I had already discovered a bit of a shortcoming in the combination of seat height, leg length and a just-out-of-reach kickstand, so the addition of mostly rigid Alpinestars Tech 7’s moved that target a bit further out of range. Thankfully, I had turned up to the class with a host of friends, all vastly more experienced than myself, and with some creative thinking and zip ties, we fashioned a bit of an extension that allowed me to tip the kickstand up a little easier. I can’t guarantee that this is a KTM-approved mod, but maybe at some point we’ll have someone clever coming up with a bolt-on extension that recreates what this suspension-tool-turned-kickstand-tab is doing.

Edgar Cota showing the difference sitting vs standing can make while riding the bike on trail.

The class started as most do, with the riders circled up as Daniel Sedlak and his co-trainer Edgar Cota demonstrate the one technique that would be called back to throughout the days training, the standing body position: toes in, heels down and letting the motorcycle do the work of moving through the terrain. We start on the clay oval track as a group, utilizing the technique and feeling out what applying pressure on one foot then the other does to coax the bike into a turn. For some riders, this is the first time they are working through this body positioning, and admittedly it takes a bit to really figure out what your body is doing while weaving through cones or zipping around a tighter turn. Spatial awareness is something that I’ve struggled with in the past, so in this instance it was helpful that Daniel and Edgar were taking videos and photos of each rider as they were moving throughout the course, and I was able to stop and ask for pointers from Daniel to get an idea of what I needed to work on.

Lining up to try the next drill on the oval track. It was helpful to watch others give it a try before it was your turn.

From there, the class was split into two groups, the first were those who were just starting on their off-road learning experience, and the second group moved to a more technical course to give the more experienced riders a bit of a challenge. The first group stuck to the oval dirt track to expand on the slow speed drills we had started with, and I was pretty relieved to get some more time to work on maneuvering the bike around corners marked by cones and not actual obstacles. I benefit from being able to repeat a drill a few times, each pass focusing on something different – increasing speed one lap, then honing in on timing with the clutch and brake, and finally a few more times to make sure all the little technical skills are working together to give the best result. The course was made a little more difficult as the morning went on, and soon we were consistently hitting the marks for the corners.

Working on the body positioning on the downhill section, shifting the weight back over the rear tire.

A break for lunch went by all too quickly, and we headed out onto a nearby trail to put our brand new skills to some real world tests. The trail in question led us uphill through some scrub brush, around a rocky outcropping and back down the far side of the hill. I could tell that some of my classmates were a bit hesitant to speed up the uphill section, so I left a hefty space before charging up the slope myself. My entire skill set from the TW200 era of riding was just ‘pin it to win it’ and I had absolutely no fear on steep rocky uphills with that little mule. The 390, however, was still so new to me, I had no idea what to expect if I ended up a gear too high or too low for my speed on uneven terrain. A stall on a silty spot might mean a complete tipover if I couldn’t manage to get my toe down in time on the correct side, and as I had yet to let the handlebars grace the dirt, I wasn’t eager to find out anytime soon.

It was incredibly helpful to see photos of our body position while on the trail. In the moment you may think you’re back far enough, or are looking ahead enough, it may not be the case!

Rounding the corner at the top of the hill, I recalled the drills from last summer in Pennsylvania, where we had done similar uphill/downhill sections and focused on controlling our speed without the clutch by applying a slight pressure on the front brake, to lightly drag the lever while rolling in first gear. Happy that I could recreate the lesson on the 390 successfully, I was confidently rolling faster downhill with each practice lap we took. Eventually I turned the corner at the bottom of the hill to find one of my classmates had wiped out, and while I stopped the bike smoothly and just in time, I failed to stick my toe out far enough, and over I went, bringing us back to the introduction of this story.


Now that I had the first tip-over out of the way, the rest of the training went by with lightning speed. We had moved on to a tighter single-track section, and tight off-camber turns. Rocks, and a sandy pit at the bottom of a small hill were checked off the list next. After a quick water break we wound up back on the oval track with the intermediate riders to work on skid turns as a group. It was helpful to see everyone else take a turn at the course they had set up, and it was encouraging to get to cheer for each of your friends taking a stab at the skill as well. This was one section that I really wished I had more time to practice, as I was just barely getting the controlled skid without the turn down before it was time to end the day.

Learning to use body weight to initiate turns was helpful later on, when we advanced to skid turns in the afternoon.

Looking back on the day, I had noted a sizable improvement in both my confidence in the dirt as well as translating my previous skills onto the 390 Adventure. Most remarkably, I had gone from struggling to get the kickstand up while on the bike to being able to flip the stand up, then hop on and take off almost in one move. While it may seem like a small thing to other riders with longer legs, this was a fairly big deal to me. A lot of my insecurity on this bike in particular is centered around the seat height, and adding a trick to my bag of skills in this category was a huge win. While it may take me another few weekends of riding to go from “I know it’s possible” to “doing it without thinking”, I was glad I had the chance to figure it out in a controlled environment.


Daniel Sedlak offers a range of classes throughout the spring and summer, with a handful of onsite training at events like Get On! ADV Fest or Over and Out Moto, so if you’re interested in finding out what class may be best for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to Sedlak Off-Road School with questions.

I asked Hailey and Susan to share their experiences in the class, not only because they come from different riding backgrounds, but because they were on vastly different motorcycles as well.


Hailey Arnold - Beta 430 RR-S

Hailey Arnold - Beta 430 RR-S

“Sedlak Off-Road School was just what I needed. As a newer off-road rider with no real instruction under my belt, I honestly felt very anxious to ride our new-to-us Beta 430 RR-S in the dirt. To my enormous relief, Sedlak’s class built skills throughout the day at a pace that was perfect for me. I felt the anxiety melt away and the confidence grow as we tackled increasingly challenging skills with ease and encouragement. Throughout the day I had some specific questions about my own technique, and whenever I pulled Dan aside to ask him for tips or validation, it was clear to me that he was paying attention and knew exactly how to help. The most valuable takeaway for me was a new Body Position technique. Heels down, legs straight(ish), and weight forward - it saved SO much energy and I felt way more in-control as my rear wheel lost traction. I truly had an epiphany moment and I was excited to go practice my new skills ASAP. As an added bonus, Daniel and Edgar gave me some pointers on how best to set up the Beta’s ergonomics to make it fit my smaller frame. If you have any trepidation about riding your ADV or enduro bike, I highly recommend S.O.S. as a mindset shift or a great kicking-off point.”


Susan Seo - Ducati Desert X

Susan Seo - Ducati Desert X

“I've been riding for 15 years, with the vast majority of that on the street and paved track. Having started riding off-road in 2020 on a dirt bike and having just purchased my first adventure bike, I was keen to get as much instruction as possible. Regardless of skill level, there's always something to learn, but after having taken everything from the Yamaha Champions Riding School to American Supercamp I've seen a wide range of teaching styles. My goal for the Sedlak class was to get specific direction on overcoming my size (5'3", 125 pounds) relative to my bike (Ducati DesertX with a 34.4 inch seat height and 492-lb curb weight before protective bits are added) and what I can do that may be different from other riders.


“The Sedlak level 2 program tried to fit in as much seat time as possible rather than focusing on developing particular skills or an iterative curriculum as many training programs use. There was one skill that was taught and then emphasized throughout the day (body position through corners) but with only one chat with the instructors during six-plus hours of training, it was difficult to know whether I was doing things correctly. There was also a wide breadth of skills in the group I was in despite there only being eight riders. Even with such a small group, there was no recognition of the different backgrounds and how what was being taught would be different from body position when racing dirt bikes or racing sport bikes. Taking the day to focus on body position was helpful, but overall I'm disappointed in the level of instruction provided.”


So, what’s the next step in this 390 ADV Project? I have a few fixes to chase down for the bike. First and foremost being the seat. I’ve sent the one-piece rally style seat off to get carved up by Seat Concepts, and hopefully it’ll be back in time for some rides I have planned in early March. I really believe that you can never have too much training, so the next step for me is a weekend adventure training class in Austin, Texas with ATX Moto Adventures. I’ll be flying with my gear and borrowing a KTM 390 Adventure when I get there, so rest assured, the bright orange scooter won’t be left out! As always, stay tuned and if you have any questions about the bike, the process, or the class, drop a comment below!


We are committed to finding, researching, and recommending the best products. We earn commissions from purchases you make using the retail links in our product reviews. Learn more about how this works.


Become a Motorcycle.com insider. Get the latest motorcycle news first by subscribing to our newsletter here.

Cait Maher
Cait Maher

Cait is a motorcycle enthusiast first and foremost, often spending weeks at a time crisscrossing the country on her Moto Guzzi V7. She got her start in the industry running a women’s moto gear market that travelled the country, and has been able to see the women’s moto community grow from the inside out over the last 10 years. She is typically found on pavement but has been eagerly diving outside her riding comfort zone for the sake of a good story, previously riding her TW200 through two Biltwell 100 races and one very well intentioned LAB2V. While not glued to her motorcycle, Cait lives a secret life as a hairdresser and quilter.

More by Cait Maher

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 4 comments
  • Noel Noel on Mar 14, 2024

    Great write-up! Thank you Cait.

  • Gj Bodhi Anderson Gj Bodhi Anderson on Apr 02, 2024

    Thanks Cait for your observations. I am interested in training because like you I believe there is never too much. I have taken Rawhyde's Level 1 training back in 2007 on a BMW R1200GS. I am 66 y.o. and feel my R1200GSA is too big for me to really get to the places I want so I am looking at possibly getting a 390.

Next