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IOMTT: Anstey Laps 112 MPH on the Mugen Shinden San

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When it comes to single-lap speed, Bruce Anstey is the man at the Isle of Man this year. Setting the outright fastest lap ever around the Snaefell Mountain Course, on the last lap of the Dainese Superbike TT no less, Anstey has another record to be proud of at the 2014 Isle of Man TT: the fastest TT lap ever on an electric motorcycle, at 112.355 mph unofficial.

For those not keeping up with the TT Zero news, Bruce Anstey is playing teammate to John McGuinness on Team Mugen. The Japanese tuning brand has brought its third-generation electric superbike to the TT, appropriately calling the 500+ lbs behemoth the Mugen Shinden San (san meaning “three” in Japanese).

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Bikes

Mugen Shinden San (神電 参) Electric Superbike Revealed

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Mugen’s third purpose-built electric superbike for the Isle of Man TT, the Mugen Shinden San, has been revealed in Japan. Campaigning two machines for this year’s TT Zero race, Mugen has John McGuiness and Bruce Anstey at the helm of its “Shinden San” bikes, as the duo looks for a one-two finish in this year’s race.

With MotoCzysz not racing at the Isle of Man this year, Mugen is a hot favorite to take the top podium spots, as well as crack the 110 mph barrier for electrics on the historic Snaefell Mountain Course (Mugen is targeting a 115 mph lap).

An evolution on the company’s previous designs, the Shinden San fits 134hp — 10hp more than last year, thanks to a new smaller three-phase brushless motor provided by Mission Motors — into its 529lbs bulk.

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Racing

IOMTT: Mugen Confirms Two-Rider Team for TT Zero

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Team Mugen is back for the 2014 Isle of Man TT, as the Japanese tuning house (often thought to be a front for Honda) has confirmed its entry into this year’s SES TT Zero electric motorcycle race.

Fielding two entries this year, Mugen has retained the services of John McGuinness, and the team has also added Bruce Anstey into the mix.

Mugen has also announced an a new electric race bike for the Isle of Man TT, which is named the Mugen Shinden San, “san” meaning “three” in Japanese — a pretty obvious naming scheme considering its predecessor was called Shinden Ni, or Shinden 2.

There are no details on the Shinden San at this point, beyond the fact that Mugen says the race bike will have more power and speed. A formidable entry last year, McGuinness finished second in last year’s TT Zero race, with a 109+ mph lap under his belt. This year, you can count on the 110 mph mark being a target for both McPint and Anstey.

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Bikes

Energica Ego Electric Superbike Now Coming in 2015

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With electric motorcycles seemingly popping up everywhere, it comes as a surprise to no one that the Italians would eventually want a piece of this pie.

Originally the Energica Ego was scheduled to be released in 2014 but, as we have seen with many electric motorcycle companies that decide to venture into uncharted territory, innovation comes at a cost.

According to the Energica, the Ego produces nearly 135 hp and 143 lb-ft of torque with a top speed of 149 mph. Range is said to be 93 miles on a single-charge, and the starting price will be $25,000. This puts the Energica Ego out ahead of the competition but, numbers on paper are just that, numbers on paper.

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Racing

Brough Superior Debuts Familiar Moto2 Race Bike

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When you hear the name “Brough Superior” mentioned, the image that condures in your mind surely is not one of a Moto2 race bike, but that might change. Debuting at the Petersen Museum its intentions to race in the Moto2 Championship, Brough Superior unveiled a new race bike that might look familiar to avid Asphalt & Rubber readers.

Rebranding the Taylormade Carbon 2 Moto2 bike that we explored back in July, which answered David’s call for chassis innovation to return to GP racing, it would seem that Brough Superior’s own return to proper racing is being accomplished with the pocketbook.

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Racing

eRoadRacing’s Miller Motorsports Park Round Cancelled

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It’s been a while since we reported on the eRoadRacing World Cup series, the love child merger of the TTXGP and FIM e-Power electric motorcycle racing series, and that is for good reason.

While Asphalt & Rubber is a big proponent of the electric motorcycle uprising, and there are a lot of interesting things developing in this space (be sure read to our ride reviews of BRD RedShift SM, Mission RS, and MotoCzysz E1pc) the racing side of the equation has been rather lackluster.

So, it doesn’t surprise to hear that the FIM has cancelled the eRoadRacing event at Miller Motorsports Park, which was supposed to happen August 31st & September 1st.

Instead, the North American part of the eRoadRacing series will consist of only two rounds: last month’s Red Bull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, and this month’s Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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Bikes

Taylormade Carbon2 – Life Outside the Moto2 Box

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David spent some lines of text yesterday talking about the lack of chassis innovation in the Moto2 Championship — a series whose spec-engine rules were supposed to be a playground for chassis engineers. As we know now, Moto2 has become a race of common denominators, with twin-spar aluminum frames ruling the day.

Company’s like Vyrus have threatened to enter Moto2 with their very stylish Vyrus 986 M2 race bike, with its hub-center steering design; but as David pointed out, the work involved to train racers for the new inputs these machines provide is perhaps the bigger boulder to carry when compared to developing the motorcycles themselves.

That doesn’t mean that innovation is lacking though, as we bring you another intriguing design, this time one built right here in sunny California: the Taylormade Carbon2.

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Racing

Trackside Tuesday: Do Motorcycles Dream of Electric Sheep?

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Now the dust has settled on another TT, a look back over the numerous pages of lap times and race results can only tell us so much. With so many incredible stories to be told it is difficult to choose one for this article.

From the blatantly obvious, such as; Dunlop’s incredible four wins, McGuinness’ new outright lap record or Ian Lougher rounding out his career on the Mountain course, which spanned four decades, tallying nine wins plus an additional nineteen podiums.

To the equally awe-inspiring, like; David Johnson’s impressive return to the island on privateer machinery, Dave Madsen-Mygdal completing his 100th TT race, and the first ever Chinese competitor at the TT, the likeable Cheung Wai-On.

Above all these, one team’s story caught my eye – the Buckeye Current team from the Ohio State University’s College of Engineering, whose Honda CBR1000RR-based electric motorcycle was tackling the Mountain course.

Consisting of a number of students from various science and engineering programs, the team’s RW-2 bike was the sole American entry from an educational institute and was pitting itself against three other teams from similar institutes and six non-collegiate teams from across the globe.

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Racing

Video: Still Think Electric Motorcycles Are Slow?

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The progress in the last five years on electric motorcycles has been astounding. Taking their first laps around the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, a 87.434 mph pace was the best an electric motorcycle could do at the prestigious road race in 2009 — a pace that was on par with the 50cc record set in 1971. Since that time though, the development of these machines has grown by leaps and bounds.

In just five years after the first laps were taken by electric motorcycles at Snaefell, these machines have grown their average lap speeds by over 20 mph at the TT Zero race, setting a new record of 109.675 mph in 2013, and boasting a rate of improvement of roughly 5 mph each year since 2009.

If hitting 142.2 mph down the Sulby Straight speed trap wasn’t further proof of the speeds these bikes are achieving, maybe some visual evidence will help support the notion. Checkout the on-board videos of Michael Rutter (on the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc) and John McGuinness (on the 2013 Mugen Shinden Ni) after the jump.

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Racing

IOMTT: SES TT Zero Race Results

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You either love the technology and progress being showcased in the SES TT Zero race at the Isle of Man TT, or you hate the lack of sound, slower speeds, and fairly predictable outcomes that the electric race provides.

For our part, we love watching the electrics go around the Mountain Course, and if you have been following the practice and qualifying sessions for the TT Zero class, the racing is anything but a parade lap at the pointy end of the entry list.

With John McGuinness leading the field with his Mugen Shinden Ni going into the 2013 TT Zero, many wondered if MotoCzysz could make it four in a row at the 2013 Isle of Man TT.

To win though, McGuinness would have to defeat two-time TT Zero winner Michael Rutter, and the 2010 TT Zero winner Mark Miller, both of whom are on the brand new 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc this fortnight. Well, now we know the answer. Click through past the jump for our full race report 2013 SES TT Zero.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the 2013 Mugen Shinden Ni (神電 貳)

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At the 2013 Isle of Man TT, when it comes to the TT Zero race, there are really only two entries being talked about: MotoCzysz and Mugen. Rumored last year to be a black hat electric superbike project for Honda, Mugen of course denies such involvement, though admits that company’s share a very special and close relationship.

Whether you believe that an association exists or not, the paddock gossip says that Mugen (or Honda) has spent nearly $4.3 million on its electric bike project, and that sounds like a number that is well within the ballpark. With John McGuinness at the helm, Mugen is taking the TT very seriously, and looking at the 120 hp Mugen Shinden Ni, you can see that the Japanese squad has spared no effort in giving McPint the most potent weapon possible.

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