Mugen Shinden Roku Electric Superbike Breaks Cover

In Japanese, “roku” is how you say the sixth ordinal, which means the electric superbike you see above, the Mugen Shinden Roku, is the Japanese firm’s sixth entry into the Isle of Man TT.

Piloted this year by John McGuinness and Guy Martin, the expectation is that the Mugen Shinden Roku will be the first electic motorcycle to do a 120 mph lap (from a standing start, no less) at the TT – a barrier that was nearly broken last year.

Team Mugen has progressed rapidly each year it enters the TT Zero class at the Isle of Man, and for 2017 they once again are bringing a new machine to the starting line at Glencrutchery Road.

The Shinden Roku’s sweeping white fairings hides many of its changes, but the bits we can see do look mechanically similar (if not the same) as the 2016 bike. However, the bodywork certainly looks revamped, aggressive, and more narrow. The real changes of course are likely in the software.

On the tangible side of things, Mugen’s spec-sheet shows a modest weight reduction to 546 lbs, while the performance from the electric motor remains at 161hp and 154 lbs•ft of torque.

It seems almost a certainty that we will see a 120+ mph lap from Mugen this year. The real question though will be whether McGuinness or Martin can raise the bar past a 125 mph lap.