Cheers, Nomad! I live in London and commute across central everyday on it, so town riding is pretty much ALL i do! yeah, chain snatch is very annoying as very frequent with all the stop-start, 1st gear dawdling i must endure! have to say its not really the greatest bike for purpose, it particularly doesnt like sitting getting hot and bothered in traffic but any stretch of clear road its sheer joy!
Thats all very reassuring, i recently made a round trip of 200+ miles down to the south coast and round sussex country roads and 80mph+ motorway and didnt have any probs, so perhaps not much to be concerned about..!
oh, yes, and when warm, starts without choke but on starting in morning first thing always need choke even a warm day, but perhaps this isnt so bad. just used to modern bikes that dont require coaxing and stroking and nice words before coughing and spluttering into life early in the morning. like the rest of us!