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John McGuinness on the Allure of the IOMTT

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John McGuinness is a name that has become synonymous with the Isle of Man over the course of the last 25 years. The Englishman has claimed seven wins for the blue ribbon Senior TT race, and 23 wins overall to leave himself second on the all-time winners list.

Having been back in the winners enclosure in 2015, this year was marked as the race where he would once again take the fight to Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson.

A crash at the recent North West 200 put an end to any such ambition, and unfortunately for McGuinness and his army of fans, the Honda rider will have to sit out this year’s running of the event.

With a compound fracture of his right lower leg, four broken vertebrae, and three broken ribs there are question marks as to whether McGuinness will make a return to racing in the future, but the legacy he has left on motorcycle racing is almost unique.

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Racing

A Statement from John McGuinness, On Recovery And Missing This Year’s Isle of Man TT

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John McGuinness came away from this year’s North West 200 battered and bruised, with the Honda Racing rider suffering a compound fracture to his right leg, along with a set of broken ribs and four fractured vertebrae, after crashing during the superbike practice. 

The injuries have ruled McGuinness out of this year’s Isle of Man TT, which is only 10 days away at this point in time. Still in the hospital, awaiting an external fixture to hold his broken leg together, McGuinness will also have to wear a back brace for the next six weeks.

Reaching out to his fans, through a statement from the Honda road racing team, McGuinness has expressed his thanks for all the well wishes from fans and the road racing community, and confirms that for this year’s TT, the best he can hope for is to be a spectator.

You can read the full statement from John McGuinness, after the jump.

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Bikes

The 2017 Saroléa SP7 Is Ready for the Isle of Man TT

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The focus for electric motorcycles at the Isle of Man TT may center around Team Mugen’s dual entry with John McGuinness and Guy Martin, but one should not overlook this very attractive entry from Belgium.

Saroléa is back for the 2017 Isle of Man TT, continuing with its state-of-the-art carbon fiber chassis goodness and retro fairing design. On board will once again be Dean Harrison, who will be gunning for a podium-finish on the 2017 Saroléa SP7.

If looks alone could get you across the finish line, then Saroléa would have our vote. The Belgians have always been in the running for a strong result though, finishing 4th in 2014 and 5th in 2015. Maybe this year will be “their year” at the TT.

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News

John McGuinness & Guy Martin Give Their First Impressions on Riding the Mugen Shinden Roku Electric Superbike

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The Isle of Man TT is rapidly approaching us, and the top road racing teams are doing their final days of testing before they cross the Irish Sea. One of those outfits is Team Mugen, which has been readying the sixth iteration of its electric superbike, the Mugen Shinden Roku.

This year, John McGuinness and Guy Martin will fight for the top honors in the TT Zero race, with both riders looking to be the first man to do a 120 map lap at the Isle of Man TT onboard an electric motorcycle.

A 125 mph lap isn’t out of the question as well, and Team Mugen is the heavy favorite (no pun intended) to take the top honors in the TT Zero race.

Helping them to that goal is an updated Shinden motorcycle, which as we have pointed out already, comes equipped with some interesting aerodynamic touches that are inspired by nature.

As battery technology slows down though, will we see a rise in the importance of aerodynamic touches, like the ones Mugen is displaying (note the chevron cutouts on the fairing edges)? Only time can tell.

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A&R Pro

Biomimicry, And What Humpback Whales & Electric Motorcycles Have in Common

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Lost in a story about testing for this year’s TT Zero, the all electric motorcycle race on the Isle of Man, was an image that portends great things for the future of long-range, high-speed battery-powered biking.

A trick learned from two giants: the Boeing 787 and the Humpback whale.

2009 was a watershed year for motorcycling. Globally sales of new bikes vaporized, forcing the giants to shut plants and kill brands.

The major brands, like Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki all pared down to the bare minimum, while European brands clung to life by their fingernails. In America, Harley-Davidson quietly asked for a loan.

But 2009 was also a touch-point for the modern electric vehicle. Tesla unveiled its first car; governments invested billions to support EV development; and the TTXGP, the world’s first all-electric motorsport event was held at the historic Isle of Man TT.

Within five years, street-legal electric motorcycles were commercially available and the annual TT Zero race (as it was called after 2010) became the place to watch the amazing potential of battery-powered vehicle technology.

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Bikes

Mugen Shinden Roku Electric Superbike Breaks Cover

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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.

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Racing

Video: John McGuinness – A Life Behind the Bars

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We are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2017 Isle of Man TT, which is easily one of the greatest two-wheeled events on our calendar each year. The build-up to this year’s event is already well underway, and helping fuel our addiction are the folks over at Honda Pro Racing.

Big Red has already announced the return of John McGuinness to its team, and riding the new(ish) Fireblade with McPint will be the affable Guy Martin. The fruits of that pairing have already been apparent, which only adds to the spectacle that surrounds this iconic race.

On a more somber and serious note, Honda has put together another video – this time featuring the 23-time TT winner, John McGuinness. It is about 10 minutes long, so grab a beverage and enjoy McGuinness’ thoughts on racing one of the most demanding courses in motorsport.

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MotoGP

Ride in Peace, Motorsport Legend John Surtees

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It’s with great sadness today that we report the passing of John Surtees, a legend in both two-wheeled and four-wheeled motorsport. 

Surtees is best known for winning three 350cc Championship titles (1958, 1959, and 1960), four 500cc Grand Prix Championship titles (1956, 1958, 1959, and 1960), as well as the 1964 Formula One World Championship title.

This makes Surtees the only man to win a World Championship in both two-wheeled and four-wheeled racing categories. He was also the first person to will the Senior TT race at the Isle of Man TT, three times in a row.

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Racing

Michael Dunlop Racing A Suzuki GSX-R1000R at IOMTT

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Michael Dunlop will be on an all-new machine for the 2017 Isle of Man TT, as the Northern Irishman has inked a deal that sees him on the new Suzuki GSX-R1000R superbike for the North West 200, Isle of Man TT, and Ulster GP.

Confirming the news with Britain’s MCN, Dunlop says he will continue to ride with the Hawk Racing team in the Superbike class, with full-factory support from Yoshimura.

The deal also sees him campaigning another GSX-R1000R in the Superstock class under his MD Racing name, as well as a yet-to-be-determined Supersport model.

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #44 – Michael Lock

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Episode 44 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is very special, because we have our very first guest on the show, Michael Lock from AMA Pro Racing.

Some of you might know Lock as the man behind the freshly rebranded American Flat Track series, and he has deep roots in the motorcycle industry, leading the US efforts for Ducati and Triumph, as well as working for Honda in the UK and across Europe.

As such, we had a very interesting time picking Lock’s brain about the current state of the US motorcycle industry, what is wrong with road racing, and what he is doing with flat track (with a bevy of side topics along the way, of course).

You will want to grab some provisions before hitting the play button on this show, because this one is super long (two hours) – we just didn’t want to cut out any of Lock’s insights.

Duration aside, we think you will find Lock’s comments and perspective to be very insightful, especially during these uncertain times for the motorcycle industry. 

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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News

Guy Martin Racing A Mugen Electric Bike at Isle of Man TT

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Guy Martin’s return to the road racing at the Isle of Man TT continues to draw big headlines, and while we already know that the Lincolnshire man would partner with John McGuinness on the factory Honda Racing team of this year’s TT, that’s not all.

Today, we learn that Guy Martin will partner with John McGuinness on another team as well, and he will once again take the seat on an electric bike for the TT Zero class in the process. As such, Martin has been confirmed as Team Mugen’s second rider, replacing Bruce Anstey in the squad.

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