I think the S40 is a reasonable bike to learn on. I actually encouraged the lady friend I mentioned above to just go with a GZ250 versus a big scooter to learn on. If you want to ride anything bigger than a scooter, you'll eventually HAVE to learn how to handle the clutch/manual/throttle, etc....might as well just go ahead and learn it right the first time.
I first snagged a cheap Chinese 250cc cruiser (a Roketa MC-51 Tonga)...it looked cool and had a nice exhaust sound for a 250...but that's about it.
The engine was rev-happy, but rattled and buzzed at higher revs like it was going to fly apart. (It didn't...if just sounded like it.) The transmission was geared very short, especially in 1st gear...even feathering the throttle could take you from stalling to lurching forward to dropping the bike. Plus, it was heavy...it weighed about 440 lbs (the same weight as an 800cc Suzuki S50!). After reading some of the book "Proficient Motorcyling", I think the steering geometry on that Chinese bike had some issues...even after moving, it always felt "twitchy" like any minor mistake and I'd end up on the ground. I sold it after about a month for what I had in it. That said, it did get me started, and I got two of my drops over with on that Chinese bike
I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone though.
By comparison, the S40 is lighter, has much more torque, geared much taller, sits lower, and just *feels like* it wants to go straight (versus it *wants to* turn and fall over...LOL).
That said, I think a GZ250 is a better choice for my lady friend to start out on...if she drops that little 330 lb bike, she can actually pick it up.
It doesn't have enough torque to get her into too much trouble. I think she could probably graduate to an S40 or Savage and be happy with that for quite a while after maybe a few more months. She has a lot of basic skills still to practice and fully master (but don't most of us? I certainly do), but the biggest problem right now is her irritating cars behind us by poking along too slow...which I think is just as bad as going too fast...people get impatient and do stupid things (like a mini-van trying to pass us both on a left turn. Don't ask how I know.
) At some level, I think having enough torque and HP to get you out of someone's way is a good thing, given that it's delivered in a manageable and forgiving way (as it is on the S40).
Dave