New Delhi, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is known for being a 24x7 politician battle-hardened by his vast travels, but there is one thing that still awakens the boy within - a ride on his Yezdi Roadking.
The love affair between Shivakumar and the popular bike of yesteryear is chronicled in Rasheed Kidwai's new book 'D K Shivakumar - Congress' Crisis Manager, Karnataka's Kingmaker'.
Around 1980, when Shivakumar was still a college student - energetic, active and already showing an unmistakable flair for leadership - he became known among friends and fellow students for the way he organised people around him, the book published by Hachette India says.
It notes how he gathered groups effortlessly, both inside and outside the college campus, guiding them with a natural authority that hinted at the political instincts he would later refine in public life.
Shivakumar's involvement in college elections sharpened those instincts even further.
"In those years, he often rode a Yezdi Roadking motorcycle bearing the numberplate CEA 7684. It became a symbol of his youthful charisma - the bike he used to crisscross between hostels, campaign spots and college grounds," the book says.
Even before Shivakumar completed his degree, he received a Congress ticket, contested the Assembly elections, became an MLA in 1989, and soon after, a minister.
As responsibilities multiplied, the bike quietly slipped into the background, eventually gathering rust in a corner of his Sadashivanagar home.
One day, Shyam, a close friend of Shivakumar, noticed the neglected motorcycle and moved by nostalgia, he told Rajasekhar, one of Shivakumar's trusted aides, that he wanted to restore the bike, according to the book.
Rajasekhar agreed, and the old Roadking was taken away.
Shyam entrusted the work to the son of a family friend, Suprith Naik, who was passionate about vintage bikes, the book says.
But restoring the machine turned into a hunt that spanned cities and continents - spare parts had to be sourced from Chennai, Mysuru, Mumbai and even Vietnam, it says.
Over six months, with skilled mechanics in Byatarayanapura and Katriguppe working tirelessly, the Roadking slowly returned to life.
The engine thumped again with its iconic 'dugu-dugu-dugu' rhythm, gleaming like the machine Shivakumar once rode as a young student leader, the book says.
On June 3, 2024, when Shivakumar visited JP Nagar for a personal event, he had no idea what awaited him.
Shyam and Suprith invited him to step outside - where his restored Yezdi Roadking stood in the parking lot, shining proudly.
"Shivakumar's eyes lit up. He circled the motorcycle, touched it with affection and kicked the starter. When the engine roared to life, he smiled, revved it gently, and posed for photographs, asking them to send the bike home," the book says.
Two months later, on September 1, 2024, the bike was formally handed back to him at his Sadashivanagar residence, it adds.
Shyam gifted him two photographs - one from his youth, astride the original bike, and one of him on the restored version.
Shivakumar started the bike again, this time with childlike delight as mediapersons captured the emotional moment, the book says.
Even Anand Mahindra, the owner of Mahindra Group, appreciated the gesture on social media, praising the preservation of a "historic personal artifact".
Shivakumar instructed his interior designer to create a dedicated space in the dining hall so the bike could be displayed like a family heirloom.
But the bike had one more surprise. On August 19, 2025, the Roadking stood atop the newly constructed flyover ramp at the Hebbal Junction, which was to be inaugurated by then-chief minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, then his deputy, that day.
"After the ribbon-cutting, in a moment that merged nostalgia with statesmanship, Shivakumar climbed onto his restored 40-year-old motorcycle, still dressed in his old khadi attire from his youth, and rode across the flyover," the book recalls.
"The deep, familiar thump of the engine echoed through the new corridor of the city. Siddaramaiah was astonished, not just at the machine's immaculate condition, but at the joy on his deputy's face," the book says.
It was a reminder that no matter how far a man travels amid power, politics and public life, the memories of his first journey can still awaken the boy within, the book adds.
"That day, the restored Roadking did more than cross a flyover. It carried with it the weight of four decades, the sentiment of friendship and the living proof that even leaders forged in fire have gentleness tucked away in the corners of their memories," the book says.
Kidwai's book captures the rise of Shivakumar, from his student leader days to becoming the chief minister of Karnataka.
It also chronicles how Shivakumar was the troubleshooter-in-chief for the Congress on several occasions when its MLAs had to be protected from poaching, including the August 2017 Rajya Sabha polls when Ahmad Patel won a hard-fought election.
On June 3, Shivakumar took oath as the chief minister of Karnataka, marking a change of guard in the state, and formally ending his long-drawn power tussle for the post with his predecessor Siddaramaiah.
