I got my first bike at 14 yrs old, before that I had a moped. It was a 72 zook tc90. (i still have it). I rode the shit out of it in the dirt and the street and made lots of fuckups and learned lots of lessons and lost a good deal of skin and blood. I didn't ride between the ages of 18 and 25 because my life was a fucking mess, but when I got my shit back together I didnt go out and buy a supersport. I bought a 72 Honda 500-four, rode that for a season, then upgraded to a 73 Honda 750-four, a bad-ass bike in its day, a slow relic by current standards. I stayd with that bike for 5 years or so before progressing through more modern, more powerful bikes until my current ride the tl. I can say without a doubt that if I had jumped from the 500 (which has comparable power and much shittyer braking and handling than the 250) to the tl1000 I would be a fucking grease spot. Keep the putter another year, take the Msf course, learn more, practice more. If high revs on the freeway are an issue put a smaller sprocket out back. In my experience if everyone is giving you the same advice, especially guys with decades of experience, its probably the right advice.