Advanced off-road maneuvers seem like a daunting task for most novice-to-intermediate adventure riders. Whether faced with deep sand or rock gardens, steep uphill climbs or equally precipitous declines, negotiating highly technical terrain calls for both body and bike control. Professional West 38 Moto instructor Dusty Wessels knows as much, and he takes to the Mototrek YouTube channel to show ADV devotees how to pull off pesky uphill U-turns.
Of course, Wessels, being the consummate adventure instructor he is, doesn’t just blast up the nearest hill and show off his off-road prowess as soon as the cameras start rolling. Aboard his heavily-packed and protected BMW R 1250 GS, Wessels starts with the basics, promoting viewers to practice on more welcoming terrain and gradients. The West 38 Moto man knows that how and why are just as important as where, and lays firm foundations for riders to gradually improve upon.
No stunter tosses up a 12-o'clock wheelie on the first attempt. The same goes for motocross riders jumping their very first double. While those feats are much more flamboyant than executing U-turns on a steep grade, the rider still requires a fair share of knowledge, practice, and confidence to pull off the maneuver.
Gaining those requisite skills is much easier in a controlled and comfortable environment, especially if potential tip-overs or crashes factor into the practice session. After all, the last place anyone wants to lift a packed-down, big-bore adventure bike is against the face of a steep incline. Picking up a heavyweight ADV is difficult enough on level ground, and minimizing the number and severity of setbacks will only keep the rider progressing toward more challenging circumstances.
However, like any learning process, mishaps and hiccups will occur, but Wessels and Mototrek prove that incremental progression and building on the basics will help adventure riders of all ilk pull off advanced off-road maneuvers such as uphill U-turns.
