MUGEN SHINDEN YON
RACER TEST
P68
speed uttered via its straight-cut
primary reduction gears, the
Mugen wafts along completely
silent at high speed, with just a
remote whine from the motor.
There are zero emissions, but
also zero dBA; all I could hear
through my Arai's shell was the
swish of the Dunlops running
over the tarmac, plus a little
chain noise, but that's all. There
wasn't even much wind roar from
my helmet, thanks to the Mugen
E-bike's effective streamlining,
it's quite uncanny, and frankly
a little underwhelming. The vis-
ceral thrill of mechanical sound
is a key contributor to the thrill of
going fast, whether emanating
from the exhaust, the primary
drive, or the engine itself, and
riding the Mugen at high speed
underlines that.
Having hosted its annual
Japanese MotoGP race the
previous month, the Motegi
track surface was billiard table
smooth, so no basis for com-
parison with the Isle of Man! But
the meaty-looking Showa BPF
fork did a great job of countering
the massive combined weight
transfer of those batteries and,
err, yours truly under the balls-
out braking the Nissin package
invites. No street sweeping with
THE NISSIN
BRAKES ARE
PHENOMENALLY
GOOD AT
HAULING DOWN
SUCH A HEAVY
PACKAGE FROM HIGH
SPEED, EVEN IF IT
TOOK ME A WHILE
TO FIND MY BRAKE
MARKERS BECAUSE
OF THE DECEPTIVE
WAY THE MUGEN
KEEPS RIGHT ON
ACCELERATING
HARD.
