Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1205: WWI: Haridwar 100 (1)

October 14th, 1702.

After handling the matters of the naval base following the victory against the European navy and the bombardment of the British Isles, Vijay promptly returned to the empire. Even though Vedanth had taken up his position during his absence as the acting Emperor so that there wouldn’t be any vacuum within the empire when it came to royal power, he was still uneasy. After all, Vedant had not been tasked with handling such a big role before, and not to mention, being embroiled in scientific research, he did not have time on his hands to involve himself in the matters of management either.

Thankfully, even though Vedant was incompetent when it came to management, he was quite adept at employing the right people. With his enhanced instinct, it was not a big problem to guide him in these sorts of things.

Stepping foot on the shore of the Bharatiya empire after nearly a year, he took a deep breath and looked at the surroundings with a sense of comfort, the same kind of comfort that one would get after returning home after travelling overseas.

At first glance, Vijay didn’t find any major changes within the empire. But he knew that under the surface, a kind of vitality that had not appeared for almost a decade was slowly brewing.

Returning to the capital, the first thing he did was to relieve the burden of Vedant, then hold a conference meeting with the intelligence personnel, the logistics personnel, and the ministers, to understand in detail what had happened in the empire in his absence.

Reading the documents submitted by the ministers, Vijay nodded in satisfaction. The research on products that run on electricity was going on without a stop, and Anand Binoy set out to research a way to increase the distance electricity can travel without having too much loss, so that electricity could be applied to every corner of the empire.

Aside from that, Vijay also saw various research being carried out, like research of trucks using electricity, research on hydraulic motors, and research on many other things, all of which satisfied him greatly.

When he took out the next document, his eyes lit up. It was the recent report about the new powered cycle that had been built using the internal combustion engine invented by Maha Sangapati.

The war with the Europeans had not ended yet, far from it. One reason he came back in such a hurry, apart from being a little worried about the empire, was also because it was time to make a move in order to break the deadlock of the Suez Canal, and to do that, a motorcycle would come in very handy.

Given such high stakes, he did not hesitate and directly set off to the secret research facility where the prototype had been built.

Haridwar, Bharatiya academy of military sciences, northern HQ.

Maha Sangapati, as soon as he was informed that his majesty the emperor would be personally coming to inspect the engine and the bike, left everything at the desk and swiftly stood at the entrance along with a few other people, who were all chief engineers who participated in the project.

" Long live your majesty, long live."

" Long live your majesty, long live."

" Long live your majesty, long live."

Vijay was greeted as soon as he set foot on the pavement, so as a response, he waved at the researchers with a smile and entered the laboratory after a few ceremonial practices.

Looking at the motorcycle, he felt a sense of deja vu. He could see the shadow of the future bikes in the motorcycle he was seeing before him.

Although it did not look as refined or as beautiful as the bikes in the future, it was already leagues ahead of the first motorbike installed with an internal combustion engine ever built in the history of its past life.

Looking at the bike and its components, he suddenly noticed a slight change. "The engine looks smaller than what I read in the description. Has it been altered?"

Maha Sangapati, the engineer behind the engine, stepped forward and nodded. "It has been optimised for installation on the motorcycle, Your Majesty. The original production prototype weighed over 185 kilograms, but the motorcycle-optimised version now weighs around 167."

"Because of the reduction in weight and size, certain compromises were necessary. The production prototype had a displacement of 850 cc, whereas the current optimised version is 765 cc. As a result, the output is no longer 6.5 horsepower at 600 rpm, but 5.9 horsepower at 660 rpm."

He then added reassuringly, "That said, there is no cause for concern, Your Majesty. Our trials and simulations show that 5.9 horsepower is more than sufficient for off-road conditions. The engine’s high torque is particularly effective, and a top speed of around 40 kilometres per hour is quite acceptable as well."

Vijay observed the engine silently as Maha Sangapati continued to report. He did not show any emotions on his face, but in his heart, he was already very happy, since the engine, even though it was the first time it was being integrated into a vehicle, already surpassed the 1885 Daimler Reitwagen, the world’s first internal combustion motorcycle in his past life.

Although it was not as advanced as the Triumph H, the world’s first major military motorcycle, the comparison itself was unfair. Triumph introduced Model H in 1915, more than two centuries, roughly 213 years, into the future. In retrospect, the fact that this design had already surpassed the Daimler, which was not meant to appear for another 183 years, was nothing short of astounding.

So, all things considered, whether in terms of the engine or the motorcycle itself, its specifications were worthy of a transitional design bridging the Daimler of 1885 and the Triumph of 1915.

More importantly, Vijay felt that the current motorcycle was not actually that far behind the Triumph H. In his view, the machine before him was lacking only a few key elements when compared to the Triumph, namely advanced metallurgy, more refined engine theory, and better fuel science.

Although the Triumph of 1915 had a smaller displacement of just 499 cc and produced only 4 horsepower, it operated at a much higher rpm range of 900 to 1200, several levels above the Sangapati engine. Also, its top speed exceeded 65 kilometres per hour, far ahead of the current motorcycle’s 40 kilometres per hour.

In addition, it ran on petroleum instead of kerosene and light petroleum distillates, a change that would significantly increase energy output if adopted in the next generation. The Triumph also featured a three-speed crankshaft with multiple gears and a hand-operated clutch, further setting it apart in terms of refinement and performance.

The empire has done a lot of research when it comes to mechanical gears, clutches, and other things, so he feels like it would not take too long to master this technology, but research is not always a straight line, so who knows.

After Maha Sangapati finished, the engineers responsible for designing the motorcycle capable of housing the engine stepped forward and began explaining the bike’s various features and capabilities.

Vijay remained silent throughout the presentation, already considering whether the motorcycle should be approved for mass production. He had seen enough and heard plenty. On first impression, it sounded promising, and from what he observed, it seemed capable of backing up the theory as well. If it could pass military trials and practical field tests, he would feel far more confident about using it in his plans against the Europeans.

"Can I test it out?" he asked.

This question immediately stunned the chief engineers and Maha Sangapati. They already knew that his majesty was going to see the bike in action. They were prepared for it and had arranged their test rider to take on the task of showing off the bike, but now his majesty wants to ride it himself? 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Cold sweat broke out on the backs of Sangapati, his researcher assistants, and the chief engineers. Kattappa, who was following behind Vijay, was in a similar situation as well.

The emperor is already old; who was going to take responsibility if something went wrong? No one in the empire could possibly bear such a big burden.

"Your majesty, this is a little..." Kattappa, knowing that the researchers were too stunned to speak, tried to persuade the emperor, but the next moment, he was dumbfounded, because Vijay did not wait to hear their opinions at all.

He directly sat on the motorbike, shook it lightly with practised ease, only to hear a soft sound of liquid hitting a metal wall, and decisively kicked the kicker. It did not immediately work, but he was not impatient. He tried a few times, and finally, with a loud, high-pitched sound, the engine started to purr like a cat, and black smoke began to billow out of the exhaust pipe.

He slowly let go of the brake and consecutively raised the accelerator, and soon the bike was on the testing grounds, making rounds.

Looking at the scenery, everyone was dumbfounded, especially Maha Sangapati and the engineers. Why the hell did his majesty look like he had ridden before, especially the action of shaking the bike to know if there was fuel? This is something even the driver they had trained hadn’t figured out, not to mention the way he hit the kicker and the way he folded it back. Everything looked as if it were instinctive.

A few minutes later, Vijay rode back the bike and skillfully flipped open the centre stand, pressed it down, and got off it with a satisfied expression.

"It’s quite good. Military testing can begin, but I want you to add some features I just thought of."

The engineers quickly took out their notebooks and stepped forward with eager expressions.

"One, the suspension feels a little tight, so it should be softened. This vehicle is clearly meant to operate primarily in harsh and uneven terrain, so some added flexibility will help. Two, the centre stand is good, but try to include another stand that can keep the bike upright even on inclined and uneven surfaces, hmm... let’s call it a side stand. That would be far more practical in real conditions."

"Three, the engine noise is a bit too loud. This can definitely be reduced. Add a cylindrical tube with damping structures, internal chambers, and similar elements to lower the noise, as long as it does not affect overall efficiency too much."

"Four, the rear of the bike is completely empty. Instead, the front seat could be extended slightly, and a modular platform could be added at the back. If multiple people need to ride, an additional seat can be attached. If standard 50 or 100 kilogram crates need to be carried, the seat can be removed, allowing the latch to act directly as a docking platform for the crates, and in some cases, it could even serve as a mount for machine guns."

He paused briefly before asking, "All of this can be done before the military trials, right?"

After looking through all the recommendations, one of the engineers who worked at Aakarsh Group of Industries, mainly on the hero motorcycles, nodded happily. "The changes are relatively simple, your majesty. We only need to do a little metalworking. It should not be a big problem. In at most a week, it should be completed."

"Good!"