Citicorp, Harley’s main lender, refused to lend any more money in 1985. On New Year’s Eve, four hours before a midnight that would have meant Harley’s demise, the
company inked a deal with Heller Financial that kept its doors open. Seven months later, amid a hot market for new stock, Harley-Davidson went public again. Ziemer,
the CFO puts it more bluntly: “You throw cash at it, try to grow too fast, you’d destroy this thing.”4