TE/TC Want opinion on a '17 TE250 for woods racing

[Brian Scott]

I've found a good deal on a '17 TE250 and am considering it to use as my primary woods bike. I do the Washington State NMA enduro series, which consists of a few time keepers, a few sprint enduros and a few ISDE format enduros; all in the woods. I also do a few hare scrambles a year. Is it a good racing platform? I'm about 210 lbs fully geared up and race Senior A class. I'd likely strip it down to bare necessities for racing to keep it light as possible. I've been on a '11 wr300 since 2012, which I've built for racing. It's getting long in the tooth, but has been a good performer and is a very fast bike. So, I'm looking to switch it up and try a 250 for a while. I've ridden a '17 ktm 250xc and loved it, but would like to stick w/Husky.

Your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated. Go!

 

[Brian Scott]

Anyone?

 

[shawbagga]

I weigh more than you by 15-20lbs & I'm going a 250 for sure next bike! They seem like a pretty good platform so if the price is right I'd go it! I'm sure you won't be disappointed

 

[ripnriding]

I've found a good deal on a '17 TE250 and am considering it to use as my primary woods bike. I do the Washington State NMA enduro series, which consists of a few time keepers, a few sprint enduros and a few ISDE format enduros; all in the woods. I also do a few hare scrambles a year. Is it a good racing platform? I'm about 210 lbs fully geared up and race Senior A class. I'd likely strip it down to bare necessities for racing to keep it light as possible. I've been on a '11 wr300 since 2012, which I've built for racing. It's getting long in the tooth, but has been a good performer and is a very fast bike. So, I'm looking to switch it up and try a 250 for a while. I've ridden a '17 ktm 250xc and loved it, but would like to stick w/Husky.

Your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated. Go!

I "Hmm'd" and Haww'd" at the beginning of the season on which platform to go with as well. I was all over the map thinking Yamaha 250x, Beta 250 or 300 RR and Husky 250 TE or TX 300. I can't tell you how happy I am with the TX. Raced in the Vet B class in the Offroad Ontario circuit on tracks ranging from fast and flowy to Snotty and Rutty(Parry Sound XC this year). This bike does note NEED anything other than certainly changing the Dunlop 81 front tire to the 52(hooks up unbelievably). The jetting was slightly off and corrected with a 6bfy44-74 needle(if my eyes are trustworthy) on top clip and dropping to a 35 pilot. Other than putting on some armour this was a race worthy and reliable rig. I can also tell you the reeds in my bike are fine...it's all in pieces.....the carb that is...not the reeds

The TX off the line was a ROCKET. Nailed a few holeshots this year with relative ease. A buddy of mine had the 250 and he was coming off of a 2010 TE 450 and he got faster....The TX for me coming off of a 2010 Husky Cr144 was......Game changer.

After a solid year and about 60 hrs of time on this bike, I've learned that this is ENOUGH bike for whatever you want to do be it....Sprint Enduro or Full blown XC. the thing is a beast on a moto track as well. The TX comes in as one of the lightest bikes out there too so....you need to do NOTHING

 

[NH-JP]

So last season I switched from a 2013 TXC 310 that was dialed in to a 2015 TE250 that I picked up for the right deal with 7 hours on it.
The 250 was a fantastic bike. Really liked to hum. You had to stay on the power, but in the sweet spot, it was magic! It had pretty good bottom end and never left me saying it wasn't enough.
This season I had the opportunity to pick up a 2017 TE300 for the right deal so I made the shift.
There was some fussing to begin with. New model year so.... Jetting, an FMF can, and Reeds. The 300 is perfect, and I am now 120 hours into it.
So, real differences?

I thought the 250 had pretty good bottom end, but man the 300 will chug along and whenever you want to wake the monster up, it will jump.
The 2017 motors are fantastic! Love the lack of vibration. Honestly on the 250, it was not so bad, but I have jumped from a 2017 300 onto a 2015 300 and felt the vibration through my feet!

The ergos are different. When I first made the switch I felt that I was sitting more on top of the 17 where the 15 I felt like I was more "in" the bike. Now, 120 hours in, it feels right.

I think that if I was shopping again new, I would probably still select the 300. I think the 250 feels like a more responsive bike. Maybe a little more nimble because of the way you ride it more in the peak power range.
But for the difference in money (not much), and weight (not much), I like the chug factor.

The other thing to consider is altitude.
If you ride above 5k on a regular basis, you are loosing some HP and that can definitely be a factor.

I though fuel range was going to be a factor.
Yesterday did 100 plus miles of late fall New England riding. Frozen wet leaves and rocks, high water crossings, muck holes, road burns, etc...
My buddy was on a 2017 TE150 and we stopped for gas at 58 miles.
I took 1.44 gallons.
He took 1.85 gallons.

Good Luck!

 

[fletchman45]

I have a 17 tc 250 converted to woods and a 18 te 250....im fast but weak ..for racing I prefer the tc...the te is roughly 15 pounds heavier and I feel it...big time..if your aggressive the versatility of the air fork is awesome...the te is caddilac plush and great...but I prefer the air fork ..which is also 3.7 pounds lighter...without throwing a air fork on the te you won't strip a ton of weight off... I suppose 2 pounds or so with the headlight taillight and odometer...what else can you really take off??? I love the te engine...and the tc engine...17 has brembo s which are better then the 18 maguras...im not sure if anyone makes a plate for electric start removal for the 17 up motor...my theory on electric start is it's cool...but really...rarely do I ever stall a bike...its a two stroke and starts on the first kick...tx 300 may even be better because of the air fork...

 

[Pedec]

My 17 te250 has 80 hours and has been a great bike. Last bike was 2013 wr165. I race mx and off road with it and I think it made me faster won masters class with TE250 this year. Think I am going to send suspension to Kreff this spring not that stock was bad just heard really good things about Kreff new revalve system. I find 250 are just more enjoyable to ride, can be lugged or rode hard on the pipe. 300 just have to much and tire me out. Seems I ride my best when I am riding aggressive and 300 I have a hard time riding aggresive.

 

[Canadaeastktm]

Not sure if still looking for input.
Hope you found your bike by now. Anyway thought I would post up since I'm a new TE250 owner.
I picked up a leftover 2017 TE250 just recently, really good deal too.
I absolutely love this bike! I've had allot of bike, only in the past year I've sold my 2011 factory KTM 350SXF, my 2016 Beta 250RR Race Edition, and my 2017 KTM 250 XCF and loved them all, but also found they all had their quirks and drawbacks and definitely needed some setup/upgrades out of the box.
So far the Husky need nothing!! The suspension is very good, power is manageable but lots of it when you want it, ergo's are perfect, don't even need risers and i'm 6 feet tall usually one of my first add on's. The counterbalanced motor is just superb and no other bike can compare!
Jetting is perfect for the highly technical hard enduro riding, mid-throttle could be improved for crispness but it still works fine through the rev range just sounds kind of rough. Might do a JD jet kit but totally fine for the time being. I must say this is the first time I've been completely satisfied with my purchase of a new bike and this excited about how much I like it.

 

[robertaccio]

the design and engineering base of the TE/TX series bikes is to race enduros/XC/offroad, this design comes from almost 50 years of KTM racing experience and technology . I cant think of a better design to do so, racing through any type of terrain.