I've been riding bikes since i was 6, haven't found anything i wouldn't jump/climb yet. I've been out of riding for about 4 years now since i sold my '92 CR 250. I just bought a new out of the crate '03 yz 125 last saturday and it's got enough power to pull my 220lb butt without flinching. pulls the front tire off the ground on pavement without popping the clutch through 4th gear and i'm not stupid enough to try it in 1st or 2nd without sitting on the gastank. These newer bikes have amazing engines and i couldn't imagine anyone wanting to start with a 250 2-stroke. Yah you can ride'em slow and easy if you really pay attention to what you're doin but that's not good for the bike and if some newbie gets on the throttle bad things are gonna happen. As far as yz 250f and yz 250 they're not comparable, if you want 250 2stroke kinda power you'll have to look at a yz250/yz450f and if you want 250f kinda power you'll wanna look at a yz 125/yz 250f