Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1534665
I soon learned the secret is to get the bike up on plane like a boat, keep the front wheel light, and again, keep the gas twisted open. As a guy who's learned to conserve equipment over the years, I was concerned about bea ng the bike too hard and would upshi to keep the revs down. The issue was when the revs dropped, so did the front wheel, and it got scary really fast. I then downshi ed, and even then, chopping the thro le while downshi ing was exci ng as the front wheel would drop momentarily, but it was just enough for the bike to get squirrely before I'd pin it again a gear lower. All during this learning experience, more than a handful of riders ripped past me at breakneck speeds only to eat it brutally right in front of my eyes in a cloud of dust. If these were the experienced guys, I wasn't sure if this segment of off-road riding would be for me. Fortunately, I seemed to find a groove that worked for me, although even as I write this story, I s ll ques on my form riding the sand washes. Although I've lost a good 25 pounds over the winter, I'm s ll a big German kid who's no lightweight all geared up, and that 390 was working hard at keeping on plane in the deep sand. Ever watch someone learning to ride a motorcycle for the first me, and they are revving the heck out of the bike, and you're yelling "Shi , shi , shi "? Well, that was me in the deep sand. I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do, but that technique seemed to keep my face off the desert floor! Once we got out of the sandwashes and into the mountainous single track, the 390 RR Race really be- gan to shine. With loads of trac on thanks to a freshly mounted pair of Bridgestone Ba lecross X40s, the 390 carved like it was on rails with the feel of a small-bore. I'd also like to men on how well the KYB suspension worked right out of the crate, without touching a click- er or se ng the sag. The bike rides high in the stroke, yet is plush while resis ng bo oming in the sharp- edged rocks. It's nice to see Beta is building bikes for full-sized adults, as this ride fit me like it was sprung and valved specifically for myself. We were treated to a short break in a mountainous sec on where we topped our fuel tanks and hydra on packs. A er that, it was game on with me feeling more than comfort- able in my new surroundings with no more surprises. The 390 loves to carve and is a single-track ea ng ma- chine that begs to be twisted yet won't wear you out.