Mugen reveals Shinden Yon electric superbike

For the past three years Mugen has participated in the TT Zero electric motorcycle race on the Isle of Man, creating a new bike each time. Now, with just two months to go before the green flag drops once more, it has revealed its fourth iteration. Called the Shinden Yon (神電 四) – meaning god of electricity four – this year's superbike appears to have more of everything. More horsepower, more aerodynamic tweaking and, interestingly, more weight.

Usually in racing, poundage is something you'd want to see decrease, but in this battery-powered realm, the bigger burden probably means Yon is packing more energy from which to draw, which is good. At some point, the limiting factor to increased speed is how much juice you're carrying. Whether the 10-kg (22-pound) additional penalty can be overcome by its new ten-percent more powerful motor, well, that's something we'll only find out once the finished line has been crossed. The pertinent numbers for the bike go like this: 110-kW (147-horsepower) motor with an unchanged 162.24 foot-pounds of torque powering a 250-kg (551-pound) mass.

Perhaps the most important element of Team Mugen, its riders, remains the same for 2015. Again, the outfit has tapped two of the fastest individuals to be found on the island during TT week – John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey. Their mission is, of course, to round the famed and dangerous Mountain Course at an average speed greater than the record 117.366 miles per hour that McGuinness managed last year.

Besides competing against the clock, the pair will also be up against the reborn Saroléa, which took third fourth place behind the Buckeye Current last year and is just days away from revealing its 2015 machine. Amongst the other competitors, there is also a mystery team rumored to be fielding a very strong entry. We have our suspicions of who that might be (*cough* Energica), but we'll refrain from mentioning their name until an official announcement.

The Mugen Shinden Yon undraping took place at the 2015 Tokyo Motorcycle Show, and was caught on video for posterity. Conducted entirely in Japanese, the ensuing news conference was highlighted by a spinning up off the rear wheel and followed by a discussion with test rider Hikaru Miyagi of the bike's weight, improved aerodynamic efficiency and cooling, as well as the future need for traction control and weight reduction. You can watch that footage below.