I have the Juki 2000 and love it... A friend of mine has the 98. Her mother gave it to her... Does it not have a foot pedal that you can control the speed with? My friend didn't seem to have a problem with it when she finally used it. (she was afraid of it at first because her mom told her it was fast) She loves it and is kicking herself that she didn't use it sooner. I know, hindsight is a wonderful thing.