If TT Legend John McGuinness Loses Enough Weight, Mugen Will Gift Him A £1m Superbike

Modern day racing drivers and motorcycle racers are well-honed athletes. Everything about their daily existence is monitored. From their exact calorie intake to the specific muscles that they should be developing in the gym, nothing goes unchecked. If Jenson Button isn’t doing PR work, you’ll find him training for his next triathlon - the James Hunt days of cigarettes, alcohol and sex for breakfast are long gone… Or are they?

Road racing, one of the most dangerous forms of motorsport, still retains that 1960/70s attitude of self-responsibility. On circuits like the 37.75 mile Snaefell Mountain Course, home to the famous Isle of Man TT, bravery and experience means far more than what you’ve done down the gym. As a result, contracts are less restricted than in other forms of motorsport, allowing riders to eat and train how they want. In fact riders like the late, great David Jefferies and John McGuinness have shown that having a bit of extra weight can actually be beneficial when hustling 200bhp superbikes around the bumpy Manx roads.

However, when the bike you’re riding is a finely-tuned electric superbike, weight is everything. Why spend hundreds of hours developing new lightweight tech if your rider negates all the benefits due to the simple fact that they can’t lay off the burgers? Beefy McGuinness has been asked to lose weight before, but he’s always claimed that the gym depresses him and that he rides better when he’s happier. As a result Honda has overlooked any previous weight gain. But Mugen, which has invested millions into its limited range electric prototype, doesn’t exactly have that luxury.

As a result Mugen has come to a deal with McGuinness. If he goes on a diet and loses at least 10kg, the team boss will give him one of the electric machines for his very own private collection. Sounds like a great incentive! McGuinness told Motor Cycle News (MCN):

“When I first asked, the man from Mugen just started pissing himself, and said ‘no, forget it.’ But I’ve been dragging on and on at them for four years now, so eventually they said ‘ok, you can have one if you lose 10 kilos before the TT.’

“I went down to Milton Keynes to their workshop for the weigh-in with about £30 of pound coins in my pocket, drank two litres of water and had two big breakfasts on the train. They chucked me on the scales and they were like ‘woaaaaaah’ when it went to like 90kg!

“I saw him in Macau though, he was there having a look around. He just slid up beside me and said ‘nothing has changed, then John? You are not serious to get the bike?’ and laughed!”

So it sounds as if the 23 times TT winner is being equally as competitive as he is on the track (albeit in a sneaky way). But if you’ve ever had the opportunity to see one of these bikes in the flesh, you’d be equally devious. Custom-built from the ground up, the Mugen Shinden Yon is a real piece of 21st century art work. With a near 120mph lap record, these bikes are making history.

John goes on to say:

“It’s a beautiful work of art, all carbon fibre and magnesium alloy parts. Basically it’s a MotoGP prototype with the engine replaced with an electric motor. The new one is even more trick – it might even be a little beyond me!

“They originally wanted the weigh-in to be the end of this month, but there’s no chance of that so soon after eating all that turkey after Christmas, so I’m going to try and put it off for as long as possible. I worked it out though and it’s only about £8000 for liposuction, so if I get stuck it’s a lot cheaper than losing a million quid bike!”

So it sounds like John has it all figured out, but we want to know, what would you guys be prepared to give up to own this exotic, one-off machine? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: MCN