CONCERNS about Harley’s future grew after the departures of its two top executives were announced. In December, Jim Ziemer, 59, said he planned to retire as C.E.O. this year. In early January, the company announced that Saiyid Naqvi, the head of the finance unit, was resigning after less than two years at Harley. Since September, Harley’s stock has plunged 70 percent, to under $13, compared with a 36 percent decline for the Standard & Poor’s 500.

Like many cash-tight companies, Harley, based in Milwaukee, is finding that borrowing is difficult  and expensive. In early February, Harley announced that Berkshire Hathaway, Warren E. Buffett’s company, would buy $300 million of its unsecured debt. (Harley reported total debt of $3.9 billion last year, more than double what it held in 2007.) In exchange for his good name and millions, Mr. Buffett demanded 15 percent interest from Harley on his investment (similar to deals he received from Goldman Sachs and General Electric when he invested in those companies last fall).

Image The V-Rod, a cruiser that costs about $17,000, is aimed at younger riders, who have been more likely to embrace rival bike makers like Yamaha. Credit... Harley-Davidson

Harley’s largest investor, Davis Selected Advisers, matched Mr. Buffett’s deal, pumping $300 million more into the company, also at 15 percent interest.

But even $600 million isn’t enough to enable the financial arm to continue making loans through year-end. Company executives announced that the finance unit needed a total of $1 billion for loans. While that’s one-third lower than last year, the executives are bracing for plummeting sales and continued frozen securities markets.

Congress included the motorcycle industry in a Treasury Department program intended to unclog financial markets by lending to investors buying securities backed by mortgages and other types of loans. It was uncertain, however, how much Harley would receive  and when  making this an unreliable source of capital. And while Mr. Bergmann said he had met with several banks since doing the Berkshire and Davis deals, he had not yet announced any new loans.

Harley’s road has perhaps never looked so hazardous.

If the company can’t obtain new sources of money to offer loans to customers, they will have to try to borrow elsewhere. But in this credit crisis, qualifying for a loan isn’t easy. A lack of credit would probably depress bike sales even further, which in turn would make it harder for Harley to repay Berkshire and Davis.