It's def a big step up from my 2007 yz250f. It's lighter despite being an e-start 450 with electronics, has more power, hydraulic clutch, air forks, traction control, e-start, fuel injection, 2 different maps you change by pushing the mode button. All things my old YZ didn't have. Really though I could live without most of that stuff as long as I got e-start.... I'm tired of kicking hot 4-strokes 50 times when they don't want to start.
It def didn't beat me up as much as my crf450r did. The lighter weight and TC probably play a big part in that. As you can see in the last pic there was mud and the TC did a amazing job of letting the rear end kick out and spin but only to a certain point. I could barely tell it was doing anything until I did a few laps with it turned off and rear end would swing out even faster and further.
The only difference I could tell between mode 1 and mode 2 was the mid range power. Bottom and top end felt similar(throttle is a little more touchie in mode 2) but in mode 1 mid range feels linear.... in mod 2 it's more violent.