Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Japan, UK, USA, Racing



To say that John McGuinness will win this year's TT Zero on the Isle of Man, riding the Shinden San for Team Mugen, and that his closest competitor will likely be his new teammate Bruce Anstey, would not be the boldest of predictions. MotoCsysz, the team that's dominated the previous four contests, is sitting out this year and McPint, as he sometimes called because his name bears a close resemblance to that of a certain brewer of fine, dark beer, is often the fastest man around the 37.799-mile Snaefell Mountain Course, with 20 wins over the years and the 131.671-mile per hour lap record to his credit.
But he's not always the fastest. The past two years, McGuinness has placed second in the all-electric contest, despite his team spending vast amounts of money developing and improving its bikes. For 2014, Mugen has not only made significant improvements to the third iteration of its "God of Electricity" - the English translation of Shinden - it's built two of them.

Interestingly, nestled deep within their twin-spar carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CRFP) frames one can find a bit of tech from the Americas. The Japanese company has been working with Mission Motors to develop a motor and, presumably, other components specific to its needs. The result? The electric bikes now boast a compact oil-cooled power plant capable of putting out 100 kW (134 horsepower) along with an impressive 220 Nm (162 pound feet) of torque.

According to our friends over at Asphalt & Rubber, that's a 10-hp increase from last year. Along with slimmer, more aerodynamic fairings and a bit more battery capacity, the team has hopes of the 529-pound bike rounding the course at an average speed of 115 mph. If it does, that would be a new record and likely enough to put it ahead of all comers.

Of course, there are some other entries who also have that top podium step in their sights, including Team Vercar Moto, who have recruited Mark Miller from MotoCsysz and a yet-to-be-revealed machine from the newly-revived Begium brand Saroléa. While we wait to to hear more about who's coming to this year's TT Zero party, scroll below for press releases from both Mugen and Mission Motors. You can also see more pics of the Shinden San with and without its fairings on here.Continue reading Mugen debuts new Shinden electric motorcycle for TT Zero race

Mugen debuts new Shinden electric motorcycle for TT Zero race originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 08 Apr 2014 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



Permalink | Email this | Comments

More...