TE/TC Quick initial impression more to come..2018 te 250...

Well I bought a 250 te the least bike I thought i would buy...and I may get something else...soon...my 17 tc 250 just hit 50 hours and has been and awesome bike...i put approximately 15 miles on the te...gravel roads ditch and a tish of trail.... initial thoughts...temp around 60 degrees...jetting feels right on...idles perfect engine winds up nicely and very little smoke out the tailpipe...so honestly the mikuni is fine to me (I am a fairly fast A class rider and pretty much always trophy) no surges no pinging...revs out nice...power is good..basically same as a beta 250rr pretty much(I had one last year)...suspension I'll get more in depth down the road.. but the fork has less sticion then any.fork I've ever felt. Shock feels balanced. Six speed tranny is nice but pretty sure bike will need lower gearing for serious racing....while this bike is.sort of light (app 227 pounds) while riding it feels light and nimble but when I grab my tc 250 2017 (212 pounds) let's say 213 with flywheel weight and o ring chain...then grab the te and lift it I can feel the weight difference...14 pounds..i have not decided if I will even race this bike just because of the weight....air fork and headlight taillight and odometer removal and different muffler would lower the weight approximately 6-7 pounds...map switch is nice feature.if you have not rode a 17 and up 250 or 300 the counterbalancer is a deal breaker...forget about beta or gas gas...they feel like a vibrating pig and will annoy you once you are spoiled by the lack of vibration. Biggest and only disappointment so far...why the f@#$ did they cheap out and put m agura brakes.....the rear actually feels pretty good..ill know if as good as brembo as soon as I get more testing....forget about one finger brembos....the front works but feels like a yamaha Nissan at best.. all fingers and a deliberate pull to get stopping power...i mean it's not horrible...but with a brembo one finger works great slicing thru the.woods....the back surprisingly felt good and powerful....however I have ebc semi metallic pads on my 17 and the 18 has stock pads...they feel very close and similar.....clutch of course is butter...lighter then a 18 gas gas and much much lighter then beta or tm....ergos are incredible and you won't even want to ride a 15 or 16 husky...while the bikes do come with Pirelli tubes they are thin so I had heavy duty tubes installed...electric start seems to work flawless....and for what these bikes cost it should...more review to come...im getting a license plate tomorrow...18 gas gas looks very sexy....but seat is tall...and they are still heavy...

Weight was a deal breaker on TE250 for me, so TE150 was a no brainer!

I had the same thoughts.

Anyways...i hear ya...te 150 is 20-22 pounds lighter.understood for sure. Well 40 miles on the odometer now....engine is very nice...jetting very decent stock...stock gearing may be to tall for tight woods riding...as at the moment I prefer my 13 front tooth eqipped(14 stock) motocross 17 250 tc in the woods. But this engine is smooth and fast...my older son will be home this week so gonna do some drags te vs tc....top speed pretty fast...probably 80 mph plus...suspension feels very good but I have a feeling will be soft for my taste once broken in. Again the rear brakes feel pretty good. The fronts remind me of Chinese brakes ....they are ok unless you have rode brembos....i can't emphasize how smooth the counterbalanced engine is...it vibrates like a smallbore...very little..electric start is nice and worked flawlessly....bike even came with a battery tender hookup....simple to use cluster with a speedometer...clutch pull is awesome...weight gain 14 pounds over tc is evident big time in my book...may throw air forks and remove the headlight (1.3) pounds by itself...taillight assembly and odometer and make a tx 250 out of it...worst case scenario the complete electric start assembly as well.....with just kick stand and 18 inch rear would be within 2 1/2 pounds of tc weight...im debating on a couple other options as well...i think the engine better suits me then the tc engine and really like it...te 150....nice but I don't need estart on a s mallbore 205 vs 195 pounds for a tc 125...if anyone has new air forks they want to swap for new explorers (us only) let me know...but like the tc bike handles well and compared to a 15 or 16 is superior in my opinion ....although magura brakes are a step backwards in my book...again rears feel nice..front more progressive then a brembo and is say not near the stopping power..

I rode my '15 and '18 back to back... Front and rear Brembo is instant on compared to Magura. My 18 rear brake came with pedal very low and a lot of free play on the push rod. Once adjusted, it works well and less prone to lock up than the Brembo. The front may need a larger rotor...

All this talk about the brakes.....I never checked are mine Magura's? on my 17 TX300. I know 2 things 1 they don't squeal at all which I love (I always changed pads for that) and they are more "soft" feeling, which for me is fine. The fronts I find are fine not much thought given.

You have Brembos Rob.

I think we're pretty much on the same page. I rode 17 and 18 back to back as well. One thing I didn't mention was my 17 brembos have ebc semi metallic red pads in the rear. So these feel pretty even to me. This year I started using my front brake alot more. For in tight woods the super sensitive one finger brembo feels superior big time and helps with rider comfort quite a bit over the magura. I'm not so sure a bigger rotor would help much....trying to copy a world class brake was stupid in my opinion...possibly b and c class riders may like the more progressive feel of the m agura. But one finger brembos feel so much better to me. At least the rear seems ok. I havnt pushed the bike yet to test boil over yet in comparison to a brembo...my 17 will more then likely remain my race bike and go thru rehab clinic soon to freshen up...however lol...i think a tc 125 with 150 kit at 195 pounds would be one hec of a weapon...with all the medicine I take for my heart issues my muscles always hurt don't recover and I'm weaker then in the past..the s smallbore looks very tempting....my wife nailed it and I didn't listen...i.said which bike should I buy...her reply was instant.and short...she said..the absolute lightest one..so I kinda screwed up..a little..30 pounds worth...I think we're pretty much on the same page. I rode 17 and 18 back to back as well. One thing I didn't mention was my 17 brembos have ebc semi metallic red pads in the rear. So these feel pretty even to me. This year I started using my front brake alot more. For in tight woods the super sensitive one finger brembo feels superior big time and helps with rider comfort quite a bit over the magura. I'm not so sure a bigger rotor would help much....trying to copy a world class brake was stupid in my opinion...possibly b and c class riders may like the more progressive feel of the m agura. But one finger brembos feel so much better to me. At least the rear seems ok. I havnt pushed the bike yet to test boil over yet in comparison to a brembo...my 17 will more then likely remain my race bike and go thru rehab clinic soon to freshen up...however lol...i think a tc 125 with 150 kit at 195 pounds would be one hec of a weapon...with all the medicine I take for my heart issues my muscles always hurt don't recover and I'm weaker then in the past..the s mallbore looks very tempting....my wife nailed it and I didn't listen...i.said which bike should I buy...her reply was instant.and short...she said..the absolute lightest one..so I kinda screwed up..a little..30 pounds worth...

Not only did they take the b rembos but the yellow impregnated that was on the 17 is now gone with the side panel just being white.....another money saver I guess..

Did you ride a TX300? Aren't they 6 - 10 lbs lighter than a TE250/300? The 18 TX300 with upgraded AER forks sound like a real good race bike.
And as for brakes, it's all relative. I have the brembos on my 17 TX, and I hated them with the stock pads. When they warm up they are off/on, and that's it. No good for the woods. I was constantly locking the front brake up, coming into tight turns and usually overshooting. I had to put the EBC Carbon-X (red) pads on my bike so I could modulate the brakes more.

I'm thinking tx 6 pounds at the most...3.7 for the forks and possibly 2.3 for headlight taillight and odometer....if you like your b rembos with the red pads that's basically what the stock maguras feel like...im fairly fast and love the brembos with the stock pads....dont like 300s so tx was out to spendy to put the 250 top end on it...i feel like gearing is off....either needs 2 more teeth in the rear or one off the front...to race the te...i would want the explorer fork gone...(sadly to say I'm sure it's better in the rocks) it's caddilac plush! But just for weight....headlight taillight odo....exchange stock muffler for a fmf 2.1....app 1.5 pound saving...engine feels fast and smooth...in woods tc with a 13 tooth sprocket is better to me..need to change gearing and see what I think...

Admittedly I've been trying to decide if I'm going to change the gearing on the TX300, or not. It's right on the verge of too high. But I've gotten used to riding really rocky rooty stuff in 1st gear -- which I had been avoiding due to my past experience the WR300 and first gear being way to jumpy to use in technical stuff. The WR300 first gear would launch you with any flick of the throttle.

Im listening to you guys on the final drive..still getting feel for this thing. I feel like I need 1st but then its too low and jumpy so 2nd for the really slow choppy rocky stuff to settle the chassis, but then second is sometimes too low, then 3rd is too high to stay on good power. I may eventually add 1 to the rear just like MXA always does....(hahha) so 2nd and 3rd are my single track gears. for now Im still a little slow on the bike and still getting the feel of it. Fletch I love this fork but still have not settled into a nirvana air pressure setting yet.
Ive been on 9.7bar for a few rides then went up a little closer to 10 @9.8 and she was too high in ride height up front this weekend I will try back at 9.7 but with 5 clicks out of comp. One of my expert crew felt the front was too high in sag as well, too much air spring! I know I added weight with my fatty and mousse set up, but this fork is still keeping the front so light feeling. Heck if you run air and a lightweight MX tire you will be amazed. Im running deep sag for me at 105 out back per all the pundits in the tests, I will also recheck that since the spring has settled in by now. I need this TX300 to follow more in the front shes still vague, but that may be rear sag effect, we will get it to the happy place soon.

Talked to halls today...jeff recommended two teeth in the rear...i said send me a 12 tooth front sprocket...my tc mx bike feels better in the woods with the 13 tooth front 14 stock...you can come to a complete stop in third and still launch....the te tranny seems like third is to tall and second to low..i like the use of third because less shifting equals less rider fatigue and concentration....translates to better times....the 12 may be aggressive but I'll try that...i don't typically do two teeth in the back without getting a longer chain...the ktm built husky does not need a shorter wheelbase as it may become nervous...Rob my air fork has a basic woods revalve by halls and i love the air fork...mine is different so I'm at 8.5 for gnarly stuff and 9.5 for Moto stuff...the explorer fork feels like it's going to be good but....3.7 pounds is to much...the only way I'll race a te is if I air fork it and strip it...

"the only way I'll race a te is if I air fork it and strip it..."
Couldnt agree more after riding 17 te150 and 17 te250!!

More of this is on me then anything. I'm weaker then I used to be and can't throw things around like I used to. I think they are 227 dry.which really for and electric start 250 is good...hec the red ones were 235 with no electric start...rode the tc today and let my fast buddy ride it....his reply the best 250 engine he's ever ridden...i havnt gave up on the te and part of the disappointment is in the fact I thought I'd buy a smallbore...

Tc engine with motocross tranny proper gearing flywheel weight is such and incredi le engine ....te feels good to...ordered a 12 tooth sprocket to play.with gearing to use third more...

Im starting to like it more...it is 14 pounds heavier then the tc...but suspension feels pretty good for a stock bike...tc has 51 hrs on it and you can slightly tell..(I just did a plastic rehab and I'm getting some other stuff for the 17) 18 rear brakes feel fine and I think the fronts are getting broke in now (45 gentle miles about 8 of single track) not near as strong as brembo but fair...i really like the engine and honestly I hate to admit it the motor is probably better for me...its smooth and powerful.

Im starting to like it more...it is 14 pounds heavier then the tc...but suspension feels pretty good for a stock bike...tc has 51 hrs on it and you can slightly tell..(I just did a plastic rehab and I'm getting some other stuff for the 17) 18 rear brakes feel fine and I think the fronts are getting broke in now (45 gentle miles about 8 of single track) not near as strong as brembo but fair...i really like the engine and honestly I hate to admit it the motor is probably better for me...its smooth and powerful.

Im starting to like it more...it is 14 pounds heavier then the tc...but suspension feels pretty good for a stock bike...tc has 51 hrs on it and you can slightly tell..(I just did a plastic rehab and I'm getting some other stuff for the 17) 18 rear brakes feel fine and I think the fronts are getting broke in now (45 gentle miles about 8 of single track) not near as strong as brembo but fair...i really like the engine and honestly I hate to admit it the motor is probably better for me...its smooth and powerful.