2013 TE310R Squirrelly in the sand

I have a 2013 TE310R. I normally ride hard pack fire roads and trails in SoCal but this weekend I went out desert with lots of very deep sand washes. I found the TE310R very hard to control and always wanting to dive down with even the smallest turn of the bars so I ended up riding by leaning only to turn the bike on the sand. I'm aware of keeping the weight way back for sand riding. I don't recall this difficulty riding other bikes in years past. I have the triple clamp at the very top of the forks. I use a Motoz tractionator 140/80/18 rear and a Battlecross 40F 90/100/21 front. Inflation was 14/14 and then I tried 16/16 which seemed to work better (less sidewall flex?) The rear shock is about halfway. Any ideas to to improve the sand handling? Different tires? Lower the shock more? Or is this just a characteristic of an Enduro type bike?

Sand is sand, dirt is dirt and the suspension cant handle both if you aim for perfection. Too soft can be used in dirt but is a battle in sand. At least that is what I have experienced through life. The softer the surface, the more strength I need from both front and rear. Might be wrong if you ask some other but this is how I tune my bike .

the old husky manual tells to stiffen the compression for sand. also raise the triples and increase rear sag

All of Michigan is sand and I ride the same bike. We set the suspension firm for the sand and it works very well. Keep on the gas and stand on the pegs and you will be fine. Remember, elbows up and knees flexed….