I’m going into my 8th week on my s40. It’s a great bike. Light, agile, quick. It does fine up to 60 plus. Great mileage. Good looking ect, ect.
My only warning which may or may not not apply to you is…. After being told “you’ll want a bigger bike soon” by a thousand people I still opted to go with the s40. At the time it felt as the perfect fit. All was cool until a friend of mine whom I ride with went out of town on vacation. He offered me his 2008 s50 to ride in his absence. For an hour or two it felt a bit big and heavy. Then suddenly it didn’t. It just felt good. It just felt great. I put 350 miles on that bike in two days.
Mind you the s40 still feels good but now in a much different way. The s50 is solid. It rumbles nicely. It doesn’t jolt with the road as much. Much less shifting with the s50 than with the s40. Rolling on power with the s50 in third gear is visceral.
By contrast the s40 is like a gigantic electric powered motorcycle. I suspect it’s quicker than the s50 in first and second gear but it just accelerates in a much different manor. It’s quite and smooth. Maybe lacking a tad of emotion. That might not be of any concern of yours especially if you just learning and that’s cool.
Don’t get me wrong the s40 is a brilliant, good looking/running bike especially for beginners and it may be perfect for you. I’m just bummed cause for me I’m gonna take a financial hit on my new s40 cause I MUST have an s50. I MUST have an s50.
Good luck and ride safely.