1934 Harley-Davidson VLD

By Margie Siegal
Published on February 4, 2009
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Bob Steig has owned this 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD, named Annie, since 1938.
Bob Steig has owned this 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD, named Annie, since 1938.
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The first known photo of Annie, with Harley-Davidson dealer and rider Ray Tursky after winning the 1934 Jack Pine Endurance Run. Check out the saddle bags; a $4.95 option, they’re still on the bike today.
The first known photo of Annie, with Harley-Davidson dealer and rider Ray Tursky after winning the 1934 Jack Pine Endurance Run. Check out the saddle bags; a $4.95 option, they’re still on the bike today.
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They took the bike on rides around the Wisconsin countryside regardless of the season, the kids often getting sidecar rides in the snow.
They took the bike on rides around the Wisconsin countryside regardless of the season, the kids often getting sidecar rides in the snow.
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The original dice shift knob was a $1.50 accessory extra in 1934.
The original dice shift knob was a $1.50 accessory extra in 1934.
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The speedometer is original, as is mileage.
The speedometer is original, as is mileage.
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The cover of Harley-Davidson’s inhouse magazine, The Enthusiast, announced the new-for-1934 VLD.
The cover of Harley-Davidson’s inhouse magazine, The Enthusiast, announced the new-for-1934 VLD.
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The toolbox doubles as support for horn.
The toolbox doubles as support for horn.

“I developed a love affair for this bike. I just liked it. It became a member of the family, and you don’t sell a member of the family.”
— Bob Stieg, owner of Annie, a 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD, since 1938

There are conflicting stories on how Bob Steig’s 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD came to be named Annie. Bob claims she was named after Little Orphan Annie, who was always optimistic and never gave up even when the going got rough. His wife, Jane, always thought it was named after the neighborhood glamour girl, Annabell “Annie” Lee. However this 74 cubic-inch Flathead twin got its name, she’s had it for a very long time.

Famous beginnings
Before Annie came to live in Bob’s garage, and when she was still very new, she had a moment of glory as the winner of the 1934 Jack Pine Endurance Run, with Fond Du Lac, Wis., Harley-Davidson dealer and rider Ray Tursky taking her to a first place finish.

This was no small deal, because in its day the Jack Pine was the offroad race to win, a three-day, 500-mile offroad event where competitors bashed their way through the deep woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, fording rivers, climbing hills and running through mud, sand and every other type of terrain imaginable, all at an average speed of 24mph. In 1934, only nine of the 87 starters finished the event, run over clay roads made almost impassable by rain. Harley promoted Tursky to the Madison, Wis., dealership as a reward for his widely reported win.

Notably, the factory-supplied saddle bags Tursky used in the 1934 Jack Pine race (a $4.95 option) are still on the bike today.

Following his win, Tursky sold Annie to a Madison police officer, who traded her in the next year. In May 1937, Tursky re-sold the bike, this time to Bernard Stieg, an engineering major in his junior year at the University of Wisconsin. Bernard in turn sold the Harley to his younger brother, Bob (also majoring in engineering), in September 1938.

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