Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday was gifted his 40-year-old Yezdi bike refurbished and restored in Bengaluru.
As he kick started the 1981 model Yezdi bike with registration number CAE 7684, Shivakumar said this was his first vehicle in college.
“The bike was lying in my house in Kanakapura (his Assembly constituency) amid dust. One of my boys has given it a new look,’’ he said.
He said the bike gave a new turn to his political career, which he started in the early ‘80s as a student leader. “It is my lucky bike. I will make a glass showcase and keep it there,’’ he added.
According to people familiar with the matter, the bike was refurbished at a cost of ₹2 lakh by Supreet Naik, a follower of Shivakumar. The motorbikes from Ideal Jawa (India) Limited were released by the then governor of Mysore state, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar in 1961.