Development for properly fast electric racing motorcycles has fallen onto the shoulders of one brand: Team Mugen, and the Japanese firm has confirmed that it will continue to push boundaries at the Isle of Man TT this year.
Confirming this week that it would race the 2016 Isle of Man TT, in the SES TT Zero electric race, Mugen also announced the return of its two-rider team of John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey.
In addition to that news, Mugen formerly divulged the fifth edition of its electric superbike, called the Shinden Go – in case you haven’t caught onto Mugen’s naming scheme, “go” is “five” in Japanese.
Mugen says that the Shinden Go is an all-new design, though the team has said that before while only making incremental changes to its racing machine. Still, we can expect the newest Shinden to be very potent, and likely to break the 120 mph lap barrier at this year’s TT.
That is no small feat for a 500+ lbs machine, no matter what its powertrain may be, and it is also a more-than-respectable time around the Mountain Course. For reference, that’s right in the neighborhood of the 650cc Lightweight TT machines, while the Supersport TT bikes can get up to a 128 mph lap.
While Mugen is sure to steal all the headlines, perhaps the big question for the TT Zero event will be regarding the race’s other competitors. While Mugen has impressed many by continuously dropping its lap time around the Isle of Man, the rest of the field hasn’t been able to make similar advances.
This leaves the sport of electric motorcycle racing is in desperate need for another player, one that can rival Mugen. We will have to wait and see if a worthy adversary appears; until then, expect to see Team Mugen and the Shinden Go debut at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show in March 25th, 2016.
We will have more details on the electric superbike after its unveiling. Thanks for the tip talkriver!
Source: Mugen
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