Mugen Shinden Nana Debuts with Curious Aeros

Take a good long look at it, because here is the electric motorcycle that is going to win this year’s TT Zero race at the Isle of Man TT.

That might seem like a presumptuous thing to say, but with Mugen fielding a three-rider lineup, and no real competition coming out of the woodwork, it would be hard to imagine a different result.

The question of course is which riders will be onboard the Mugen Shinden Nana when it takes the #1 position? John McGuinness? Bruce Anstey? Or, Lee Johnston?

Your guess is as good as ours, as all three road-racers are more than capable of putting down a race-winning lap on the Mugen.

While the three-rider lineup is obviously headline worthy, the hardware side of the equation is harder to catch. Mugen’s published spec-sheet for the Shinden Nana is identical to last year’s Shinden Roku (162hp / 546 lbs).

Examining the photos though, there are some obvious – and not-so-obvious – differences to spot. For starters, Mugen has worked heavily on the Shinden’s aerodynamic package, with this being the primary focus for the 2018 race.

To do this, the Japanese firm has a taken a cue from nature, something that contributor Michael Uhlarik outlined in this A&R Pro story, with vortex generating edges featuring on the Shinden Nana’s bodywork.

This is not the first time that we have seen this concept, with spy photos last year hinting at their development, but we never saw the aerodynamic aids make their way to the race course…until now.

We can also see that the front intake, front fender, and tail section have also been changed, the latter of which looks suspiciously close to having turn signals and a brake light, which causes some interesting thoughts.

Returning for 2018 is support from Showa and Nissin, with those firms providing top-shelf suspension and braking pieces, and overall, the electric superbike package looks beautiful and unparalleled.

While Mugen might be racing against itself again this year, with three riders, the competition should be interesting to watch, and of course we are curious to see who will be the first to crack the 120 mph lap on an electric superbike.