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On patrol with the Met police
By John Cantlie on 07/04/2010 13:36:27
Traffic police; possibly the most feared and misunderstood creatures on the roads of Britain. Visordown went on patrol with the Metropolitan division to find out what it really means to be a traffic cop
as we used to. Since 1999 the number of traffic officers in the London area has decreased from over 1,000 to just 690 today.There are five garages serving the entire London area, the capital being sliced up into quarters with the M25 as the boundary
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Indian Takeaway - Enduro India
By John Cantlie on 29/06/2005 12:46:44
If you need a break from the drudgery of working life, if you want to ride a bike in a place where traffic laws are non-existent and you can do pretty much whatever you want, well, you need to go to India
Southern India is not the most obvious place in the world for a British motorcycle rally. For starters, it's 10 hours away by plane with an eight-hour stopover in Sri Lanka. Then, once you arrive, there's the combination of lethal traffic, appalling
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In Search of the Gotland Ring
By John Cantlie on 20/10/2010 12:41:19
Sweden. Home to Volvos and Saabs, Viggens and Vikings, preposterously expensive beer and – quite frankly – the most beautiful women on earth. ll in all, possibly the last place on earth that you’d expect anyone to build a brand new racetrack in Europe
part, only dual-carriageway affairs and more often than not there’s heavy traffic, so blasting your way across Germany at nuclear speeds isn’t the option it once was. 100 octane petrol costs just over £1 per litre, and since we’re burning big miles I
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Talk your way out of a Nicking
By John Cantlie on 22/04/2010 10:43:50
Be dignified, be calm, be honest and be free
has a bloody good idea of your velocity.Remember that traffic cops love bikes and going fast themselves. If you were riding well but way too quickly or you were splitting lanes aggressively, an admission of your guilt coupled with a wise head will go a
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Woodstock - Big BMWs offroad: 450 X, F800 GS & R1200 GS
By John Cantlie on 28/07/2010 09:36:23
For the average trail rider in the UK, a full-on enduro bike is overkill. Surely, a road bike with some big knobbly tyres for green-laning is enough? We put three grumpy old men haggard on a trio of BMWs to find out
into the woods and vales.Our guides for the day were venerable photographer Oli Tennent (born 1963) and Alistair Walker (1971), who’s director of BMW dealership Bahnstormer just outside of Alton. Selected especially for the ride due to his fearful bad
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Running for the Hills of Scotland
By John Cantlie on 05/10/2003 10:07:39
From the twisting, forested passes of Loch Tay to the winding mountain roads near Cape Wrath, grippy tarmac and stunning views await riders brave enough to make the trip up to Scotland
.21 litres Average: 45.2mpgThat was cruising at about 95mph on the motorways with plenty of stop-offs for tea and disgusting Ginsters slices along the way, and includes battling my way through London morning traffic. The RR returned an astonishing MPG figure
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Looking For Travis: KTM 990, Transalp, BMW HP2
By John Cantlie on 20/05/2009 16:06:06
A KTM 990, Honda Transalp and BMW HP2 get stuck into the muddy action at the WRC Wales Rally as we go searching for freestyle legend Travis Pastrana
with Geoff’s cheap carry-all strapped to the back it did tend to ruin the style somewhat.Continue Looking for Travis - 2/3SpecificationsBMW HP2 EnduroPrice: £11,995Engine: 1,130cc, air-cooled, DOHC, 4-valve, boxer-twinPower: 105bhp @ 7,000rpmFront suspension
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Yanks
By John Cantlie on 26/11/2010 14:53:27
There are some 12,000 American military personnel stationed in the UK. Every year, they remember their fallen comrades by taking to the streets on their Hogs. This year, we tagged along for the ride
. Since WW2, there are over 125,000 servicemen and women still registered as MIA, a phenomenal number. “Freedom isn’t free,” says Master Staff Sergeant Jonathan Richichi over a coffee (served in a bucket, naturally). “This week of remembrance started after
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Destroy Supercars
By John Cantlie on 21/04/2010 16:02:41
Ridiculously powerful, with unearthly levels of grip and braking ability, the modern supercar is a tough quarry. Here’s the lowdown
.5 seconds; 0-100 in 5.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in 10.2s.” Only a Suzuki Hayabusa can get close; 10.4s for the quarter-mile. “The chances of coming across a Veyron are slim, let alone a driver with the balls to thrash it,” admits Henry, “but be careful
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Extreme Sports - SP-2, ZX-10R, GSX-R1000
By John Cantlie on 20/10/2010 14:30:43
Get three mates riding three of the most extreme sportsbikes ever built, plot a devilish route through some of the best roads in the UK
. In other words: proper sportsbikes. And the pick of the crop were these three below, the 2005 GSX-R1000K5, Kawasaki's 2004 ZX-10R and Honda's sublime VTR1000 SP-2 from 2002.And the best news is that you can buy examples of these three bikes for easily under
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