Ive had both, 2 stroeks and 4. I had one of the baddest bikes on the east coast at one time, a built from scratch crf450r and in 100% seriousness the only thing stock was the frame. I also had a yz250. The 450 was faster, yes, but it was not much fun. The torque was stupid to control, it never spun the tire just wheelied in every gear. I traded my 450f for a f*#%ing lakota. Thats exactly what i thought of it. I got rid of the lakota soon after as well. Timing chains, valve seats, cams. If you have to rebuild a blaster, including cases, its $800 with labor and cases ect from crank up. If a 4 stroke blows top and bottom end, your looking at $1500 or more easily. What he spoke about with the throttle, hot start, and oil changes was 100% true. When i first bought the bike i didnt know about the hot start, and couldnt start the bike once it was warmed up. Even with the hot start, 25% of the time i had to roll start it because to make any power they need crazy high compression. I couldnt trail ride because it got way way too hot even with bigger rads and special coolant. I recently considered trading my blaster for a 400ex, and cant bring myself to give up a simple to work on cheap bike for something that wont last any longer and costs more to fix