I usually recommend a newbie not use a 4 stroke engine. the reason why is that 4 stroke are more expensive and newbies have a tendency to ding up equipment. the 2 stroke is cheaper and survives better then a 4 stroke in a face plant. the 4 stroke can get its pushrods bent easily if they are hit but the 2 stroke needs to hit something like pavement or a big rock to really damage them a lot.