Motocross San Diego

Motocross and Dirt Bike racing has a long history in San Diego and the surrounding North and East counties. After decades of hosting some of the worlds biggest races at Carlsbad Raceway and producing some of the world’s top riders in the hills around El Cajon the landscape for riders in sunny San Diego has changed. With the tracks in Carlsbad in El Cajon closed we are left with a lot less choices to ride. Fortunately for us there are still some gem’s out here.

Barona Oaks Raceway

Barona Raceway is San Diego’s premier Motocross track . A fun layout that is a little tighter than most of the MX tracks in SoCal makes for some great laps around the trees in the Barona Valley. Dayton and his crew have both the main and the kids track fully prepped every weekend. For more info on the track check out: www.barona-mx.com

Off Road and Enduro riding

East county San Diego has some amazing trail riding to offer. McCain Valley OHV just off the Interstate 8 near Boulevard has a great selection of trails and hill climbs available. This is a great spot for beginners, intermediates and pros with the amount of different loops to choose from. After a day of rain there are some great sand turn tracks available for our Motocross friends as well. 

Corral Canyon OHV Area

Really fun scenic area to ride a dirt bike in. It is quite rocky and on weekends you will run into a lot of ATV’s and SXS there, so you need be careful and keep your eyes open. Nonetheless it’s a great area to get out on two wheels just 40 minutes east of downtown San Diego.

Sedlak Offroad School Private Enduro Trails

For our private Enduro classes we have 500 acres of private property 1 hour east of downtown San Diego. A fun mix of single trail and natural obstacles allows us to work with riders of all skill levels. For more info on our Enduro classes please check out www.sedlakoffroadschool.com/enduro-training

If you are looking for more information for Motocross in San Diego or the Enduro trails in Southern California, feel free to reach out to us info@sedlakoffroadschool.com. We are happy to provide you with all the information you need and are able to provide rental bikes, safety gear and professional instructors. Our Day in the Dirt is San Diego’s premier dirt bike rental and training program and a great way to experience the thrill of off road riding. For more information about our Day in the Dirt please go HERE

Adventure Bike School California

Adventure motorcycles are a great way to go and explore the world off the beaten path. From exploring the back country roads of your State, taking on a BDR or riding your bike across continents, the opportunities are endless. Every good adventure needs a certain amount of preparation and taking your Adventure bike out is no difference. A lot of riders that take the Sedlak Offroad School ADV courses have limited off road experience and come form a street riding background. Learning the fundamentals of off road riding is crucial especially when you are riding a 550 lbs bike. Being able to control the bike safely and use the weight of the machine to your advantage instead of “wrestling” it through sandy section and rocky roads will not only give you more confidence it will also safe of you a lot of energy enabling you to ride further.

Our half day ADV course is a great starting point to improve your riding instantly. We break our sessions down into three important fundamental techniques:

1. Body Position. We teach you how to properly position your feet on the foot pegs for maximum leverage and control. Controlling the your motorcycle from the first point of contact (foot peg) will be a game changer for every rider. Furthermore we will work on bringing you upper body forward on the bike and working efficiently with your arms.

2. Clutch, Brake and Throttle control. Riding off road can be intimidating at first because of the lack of traction and grip. We teach you how to properly apply your clutch and throttle to gain traction and control. Once you are picking up speed you need to be able to stop. We created several braking drills that will help you feel in total control of your ADV bike at all times.

3. Controlling your bike standing up. Riding standing up sounds pretty simple and it is as long is you are comfortable on solid surface. Naturally you loose a little confidence when you are approaching a new section. Most riders compromise their position on the motorcycle approaching challenging section which puts them in a bad spot before they even get into tricky terrain. Our stand up drills will provide you the tools needed to master tricky sand washes and rocky river crossings.

If you are interested in our ADV trainings here in San Diego or would like for us to organize a group training for your club or group of friends feel free to reach out to us info@sedlakoffroadschool.com and we are happy to provide you with all the information needed. To book a 1 day class you can find more information here: www.sedlakoffroadschool.com/book-your-event/adventure-bike-training. Sedlak Offroad School founder Daniel Sedlak has discovered the world on two wheels from riding the Himalayas in Nepal to crossing the jungles of Cambodia. Daniel has experience on a wide range of ADV bikes from BMW to KTM, Yamaha, Ducati, Triumph and more. He build our ADV curriculum based on his 25 years of racing and adventure riding experience. His influence from Enduro and Rally racing will give your training an extra boost.

Sedlak Offroad School and XPA Mexico Partnership

We are really excited to announce our new partnership with Mexico’s premier Motocross and Enduro schools XPA Mexico. As California’s premier Dirt Bike School we are always looking to expand our reach and connect with more riders in different parts of the world. XPA’s focus on young riders very much aligns with our vision of helping the next generation of riders to become better, safer and in the end more successful riders.

Daniel Sedlak will travel to Guadalajara for multiple Motocross camps at the XPA facility in 2021 to work locally with many of the young riders in the XPA training program. In addition we set up a rider exchange program giving young riders from Mexico the chance to experience riding and training with one of California’s top Motocross schools. In return SOS riders will have the chance to travel to Guadalajara and use the XPA facility for their training needs.

It was always our goal to be the go to Motocross School in California and partnering with XPA is another big step in that direction.

Motocross School California

If you are looking for a great Motocross School in California you came to the right place. Every year we train riders from around the world here in southern California at our Motocross training camps. Especially in the winter months we organize training camps at our local Motocross tracks in Pala, Glen Helen, Lake Elsinore, Cahuilla Creek and State Fair MX. Riders from Canada, Europe, Africa and South America come to stay and train with us to get ready for the new season. If you are looking for a complete pre-season training package with multiple days of riding you can join our scheduled classes where we ride and work on technique, fitness and speed on different tracks 5 days of the week. If you are looking for just selected days or a private 1 on 1 session we can get that scheduled for you as well.

Our head coach Daniel Sedlak has set up his California Motocross School 6 years ago and works with riders from all over the globe. The former professional racer started his racing career in Europe and raced professionally in over 50 different countries before setting up shop in California. “Especially in the pre-season it’s important to follow a good program to build a solid foundation for the year. With our training programs we will work with you here in California and when you leave we will hand you a personal training plan for the rest of the year based on your progress while you were with us.”

Our Motocross training’s are available year round. If you have any questions please send us an email info@sedlakoffroadschool.com and we will send you all the information you need to get started.

5 Reason Why You Should Learn How To Ride Your Motorcycle Off Road

Riding a motorcycle off road can be intimidating especially if you have never done it before. It doesn’t have to be though. If you focus on learning the basic techniques needed to ride a motorcycle over dirt roads and rocky riverbeds you will figure out that it is actually a lot of fun. It is also a lot more forgiving in the rare case that you do go down. A crash on your motorcycle on the street even without traffic comes with a high price not only for your health but also for your bike. Here are the top 5 reasons why EVERY motorcycle rider should at least learn the basics of riding in the dirt.

Balance and braking

It is a lot harder to ride in the dirt than it is to ride on the street. You are constantly trying to keep your motorcycle in a straight line on shifting terrain, and when it is time to stop you can just pull the break in and trust in the traction of your front wheel. Your tires lock up a lot easier on loose ground requiring you to apply a lot more feeling on your break levers. Once you can control your motorcycle off road it will be a lot easier to ride it in every day traffic especially when the roads get a little slippery.

Confidence

When you know what you are doing on two wheels and you can predict what your motorcycle will do in certain situations you will have a lot more confidence. For new riders group rides can be especially stressful because it is more difficult to ride in close proximity to other riders. Learning how to control a motorcycle off road will build the confidence you need to be save on your street bike.

Control

Controlling a motorcycle in the dirt requires a lot more throttle, clutch and break control yet the same principles apply to riding on the street. Learn how to master all of the techniques needed to ride off road and you will never struggle in every day traffic again.

Safety

As mentioned before, mistakes are a lot more costly on the road. When you are learning to ride off road the speed is a lot lower, the ground is softer and a dirt bike is build for hard impacts so even if you do make a mistake you can just get up, dust yourself off and try again. This will allow you to make mistakes, learn from them and eventually find your own limit with out any big consequences.

FUN

Riding a motorcycle off road is FUN. It doesn’t matter if your background s in street riding, adventure bikes or you don’t have a motorcycle background at all, there is nothing more fun then riding a motorcycle through a set of wide open land. Who hasn’t seen clips of riders exploring the world on two wheels and imagined the freedom that comes with that. Well learning the basics of how to ride a motorcycle off road will be step one to experiencing that freedom.

At Sedlak Offroad School we have a lot of different courses that can introduce you to the world of off road motorcycle riding. Make sure to give us a call when you are ready

Enduro Trails in San Diego,CA

Sunny San Diego is known for its beaches and great weather but for us off road enthusiasts there are a lot of really cool Enduro trails to explore. Between the coast and the desert you will find some great rolling hills with a variety of terrain from sandy single trails to rocky river beds. Especially in the winter months after some rain it is one of the best places to ride Enduro in th US.

A little further east about an hour’s drive of San Diego is the OHV park of McCain Valley offering a wide variety of off road terrain. For the riders looking to ride some rocky uphill sections this is a great place for you. If you are riding a bigger adventure bike McCain also has a lot of wider trails giving you the options to test your ADV bike in some cool off road settings. 

At Sedlak Offroad School we give you the opportunity to ride San Diego’s great trails with us. If you are from out of town and need to rent dirt bikes and equipment we are here for you. Our Day in the Dirt provides everything from the bike to the gear and a professional instructor. If you are a dual sport or Adventure rider looking to improve your skills make sure to reach out. We are always looking forward to meeting more local riders and helping them improve.

ALTA Redshift MXR | First Ride Review

A competitive electric motorcycle? Tesla has done it on the road and now ALTA is doing it in the off road motorcycle world. In the american technology capital San Francisco in the neighborhood of Apple, Google and Tesla the electric motorcycle manufacture ALTA is working on the future of motorcycling. Since 2009 the crew at ALTA has worked on prototypes of a electric Motocross bike. After many years of development they started testing in public with the help of different professional riders about two years ago. Last year ALTA hired former professional Supercross racer Josh Hill to race the bike at the Red Bull Straight Rythm event. Hill beat factory Suzuki rider Kyle Cunningham over the course of three heats and advanced to the next round showing the world that an electric motorcycle is more than capable of competing with the gas powered competition. A lot of questions still remaind. How would a production electric bike fair out on the track. How fast does it go and would the chassis be up to par with what we are used to? Not only did ALTA decide to push the electric engine they also build their own chassis from the ground up which is a big challenge in it self. I travelled to Perris Raceway in California USA to find out what the ALTA is all about and if this is really the bike of the future.

Looking at the new ALTA MXR you fell like you made a trip into the future. The design is nothing that is currently on the market. I didn't know what to expect and was eager to get out on the track. It took me only a couple of laps and I felt right at home on the bike. The electric engine is really responsive and ALTA spend a long time developing a power delivery that would make it feel like your normal gas bike. The chassis feels really balanced and handles really well. The MXR feels like a race bike with a agressive set up that sits a little lower in the rear than your ordinary OEM dirt bike. As racers we spend a lot of time and money to set our bikes up lower in the rear to achieve better handling so it was nice to see a manufacture adopt that from the get go. The WP AER forks and WP shock come with a setting developed for the bike and give you a lot of options to fine tune the bike to your liking.

I was suprised with how easy it was to adopt to the bike. The MXR comes with four different mappings that make it change the power delivery signifantly.

Map 1 ECO: A traction map that offers the best range profile. Also a great mao for just starting out.

Map 2 SPORT: Performance profile engineered to line up with 250f race machinery

Map 3 PERFORMANCE: Similar traits as the sport map but with more bottom end and traction. It also makes a great starting gate map.

Map 4 OVERCLOCKED: Maximum torque and power are available without restriction – if you have the skill to control it. Thermal limiting will protect the machine if you push too hard.

Not having a a clutch or a shift lever was suprisingly easy to get used to. Instead of focusing on my shifting points and controlling the bike with the clutch I could just focus on my riding technique and my line choices which made for a very enjoyable riding experience.

A big point of discussion is the weight of the bike. With 259 lbs it comes in on the heavy side but and this is a big BUT out on the track you don't feel the weight. With out the rotating mass of a normal combustion engine the bike feels light and nimble and really easy to handle.

The big question when it comes to electric bikes is the battery life. How long can I ride until I'm out of juice. With the ALTA that really depends on the surface you ride on and how hard you ride. A professional racer gets somewhere around 40 minutes out of the battery on a hard pack track in map 4. Your average rider gets 90 minutes or more of riding time. With Indian tracks being hard pack for the most part you can expect to get around 90 minutes or more of riding time out of your bike.

The Supermoto and Dual Sport version of the bike comes with different mappings which give the bike around 4 hours of battery life. ALTA's new charging system enables you to fully recharge your battery with in 90 minutes. Four hours of riding time in the city or off road is a good amount with a quick recharge time. Indian riders will enjoy the torque of the bike especially on the plated Supermoto version. With a lot of stop and go traffic you will be able to out accelerate everybody.

ALTA's marketing slogan is "The Future of Fast" and after riding the bike I have to agree. As a professional racer I've ridden a lot of different bikes over the years and I would consider the ALTA one of the best bikes I have ever ridding. I haven't had that much fun riding a dirt bike in a long time. The handling, power delivery and easy to control charateristic of the bike will gurantee a great riding experience for everybody.

The Alta Redshift MXR is Alta's newest edition to their line of electric Motocross bikes. With a improved battery, new suspension, tire and mapping upgrades this is Alta's answer to the traditional gas powered dirt bike. It is designed to be the electric equivalent of a modern 250 fourstroke.

Racer X Interview

I recently came across an interview I did with Davey Coombs and Racer X two years ago. Davey did a really good job summarizing what I'm doing and it gives everybody a little bit of inside and understanding on how some of these overseas adventures work. 

Here is the link. Enjoy the read.

http://racerxonline.com/2015/12/16/between-the-motos-daniel-sedlak

Daniel Sedlak making new friends while teaching Motocross and Enduro lessons in Uganda Africa

Pune Supercross India

To finish of the 2017 season I accepted and invitation to race a Supercross in India. I've tried to go to India and race for years but the timing never worked out so I was glad that I could finally make it. My good friend Dennis Stapleton organized all International riders for this event so I knew it was going to be a fun time. Dennis and I have been friends for a while now. I met him back in 2011 at a race in the Philippines and after that we crossed paths all across the world from Kuwait to Europe and now we are both in southern California racing and running our Motocross related businesses. Along with us came Brian Medeiros and Justin Muscutt two professional privateers that just finished the AMA Nationals. After almost two full days of travel with a quick layover in my old home country of Germany we finally arrived in Pune. Day one was all about setting up bikes and checking out the track. One of the most adventurous things about fly away races are always the bikes you are racing on. In India we were handed 350 KTM's that had a couple years on them. After some minor problems on the first day we all had our bikes figured out and were ready to race. The event consisted of three nights of racing with two main events a night. The track was hand made by local workers and turned out to be a lot of fun. I was impressed with the entire set up. Over the last couple of years I have done a lot of events like this one in all kinds of different countries but non of them had a professional set up like this one. The races were fun, all of us international riders treated it as a fun weekend away and didn't get too aggressive with each other. After three nights it was Kerim Fitzgerald from South Africa who won the overall. Brian Medeiros had a bit of bad luck on the last night breaking his finger after he went down early in the first main event. Other than that all of us made it out healthy and happy. I hope I will be able to see a lot more of India in the near future the country has a huge motorcycle market and a lot of potential for a motorcycle enthusiast like myself. 

Daniel Sedlak travels to India to race the 2017 edition of the Pune International Supercross. From Supercross to Freestyle to absolute moped madness Supercross racing in India offers a little bit of everything. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE https://www.sedlakoffroadschool.com/ CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/sedlakoffroa... FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/dansedlak/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzZD...

Enduro Training Vietnam

At the beginning of last year I got an awesome opportunity to travel to Vietnam. I was in Cambodia to organize a Motocross training for Top 1 Oil and the decision was made to extend my trip with a weekend in Hanoi. Vietnam doesn't have any Motocross tracks but a lot of Enduro riders so we decided to focus on Enduro riding while we were there. I had been to Cambodia before and it was really hot and humid and after a short look at the weather app seeing 90 degree temperatures I decided to pack for a hot weather trip. Upon arrival in Vietnam I came to find out that even though the two countries are neighbours the weather can be very different. Temperatures in the low 30s welcomed us and I realized that only bringing shorts and one sweatshirt wasn't the smartest move I've made in my years of travelling around the world. After a quick trip to the mall to get some warmer clothes it was time to explore Hanoi and see what the city had to offer. The history and architecture of Hanoi were amazing. We tried some of the local food and had one too many coffee's trying to stay warm. Day two meant it was time to go riding. A lot of rain over night and in the morning weren't a great base for a day of Enduro riding in freezing temperatures. We met the vietnamese Top 1 distributor at the hotel and drove an hour out of the city to the banks of the red river. We had a great view of the city with the Cau Ving Tuy bridge in the background and a lot of sand, rocks and mud to work with. I was provided a Yamaha WR 450 which was perfect for the terrain. Shortly after the riders started trickling in and we were ready to go. 25 riders showed up and were ready to fight the wet and cold weather to learn how to ride their Enduro bikes better. Throughout the day we covered all kinds of riding techniques and little tricks to make it easier for them to navigate the challenging terrain. A nice lunch grilled over a open charcoil fire rounded up one of the best Enduro days I've ever had. Everyone that came out improved their riding tremendously and left with a big smile. It was a surreal feeling riding on the banks of the red river and realizing that 40 years ago this was the side of heavy bombings during the Vietnam war. It put in perspective how lucky I was to travell to so many different places in the world to enjoy riding motorcycles in peace. The riding scene in Vietnam is growing every year amd even though it is hard to find terrain to set up a track or a trail system because of government regulations the enthusiasm of the local riders is at an all time high. If you are intrerested in travelling I recommend putting Vietnam on the top of your list of places to see in Asia. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing more corners of this beatiful country.

Follow Daniel Sedlak and the crew at Top 1 Synthetics while they travel to Hanoi, Vietnam to organize the first Enduro training class ever in this part of the world. After a week of riding and training in Cambodia the journey continued to northern Vietnam.