During the unveiling at the Suzuka circuit of the all-original Mugen Shinden – the brand new electric racer that will take part in the next TT Zero under the flag of the famous Honda tuner – it has been officially announced that the rider that will try to take it to victory on the Isle of Man will be no-less than 17 times TT winner John McGuinness, making it clear – if there were any doubts left – that Honda is indeed involved in the project.
McGuinness has shown some interest in participating to the TT Zero since Micheal Rutter and Mark Miller got really close to the 100 mph (160 km/h) average last year on the MotoCzysz, proving that this kind of bike can actually deliver some serious performance.
The announcement will obviously bring more visibility to the TT Zero and to the electric motorcycle business as a whole, paving the way for the other important manufacturers that sooner or later will have to get involved with it.
After the jump you can see a recent interview with McGuinness during which the man admits his commitment to the project (which was shot a few days ago when the legendary rider went to visit his local football team, Morecambe FC) as well as the first official specs of the Mugen Shinden , which means ‘electricity of God’ in Japanese.
Since the final goal is to become the first electric vehicle to get around the TT track with an average speed of more than 100 mph, there’s no doubt that Mugen has secured itself the right man for the job, but will the machine be able to live up to the expectations? Given that Honda is definitely well into it, we would say a straight ‘yes, definitely’.
View Mugen Shinden photo gallery Here’s the video of the interview with TT Legend John McGuinness where he says he is about to go to Japan to test the new Mugen electric motorcycle (at 9:00):MUGEN SHINDENTechnical SpecificationsLength/Width/Height (mm): 2,125/680/1,130Wheelbase (mm): 1,485Ground clearance (mm): 130Seat Height (mm): 840Curb Weight (kg): 260Caster Angle: 23oTrail length (mm):96Tyre (Front):120/70ZR17M/C (58W)Tyre (Rear): 200/55ZR17M/C (78W)Frame：CFRP Twin-Spar-TypeMotor Type：Three Phase Brushless DC motorsHorsepower (kW[PS]): 90[122]Torque (Nm[kgfm]): 220[22.
4]Battery：Lithium-ion BatteryBattery Output (V): 370 or more