Top notch reliability goes to Honda. Although, they've had a few recalls in the past. The most recent on the CBR600F4 for overtorqued valve covers. Their bikes are also usually under powered compared to competition....and this is how they make their bikes reliable. They downgrade their powertrain performance to gain that extra bit in reliability. That's why Honda refuses to compete in the "Which bike is the Fastest" game. No doubt if they did, they would have reliability issues as well in the first year of production. Look at the first year production of the XX, no ramair, no FI. Did it beat the ZX11? Only after they sent a balanced & blueprinted bike to Motorcyclist. Even then, it beat the 11 only just so.
Kawasaki reliability is a notch below Honda. Their build quality is also below that of Honda & Suzuki. However, I don't remember any recalls for any Kwaks for a while now. Suffice it to say, Suzuki isn't the only manufacturer who's had cam chain tensioner problems. The previous ZX6R had it and so did the ZX11. What's the difference? Kawasaki didn't issue a recall. Not sure about the current ZX12R. And the 9R? Many people have complained about its abrupt throttle response in the midrange during aggressive cornering. Not the kind of bike I would want when I'm really pushing. Not Honda, Yam, nor Suzuki would release a bike with such a condition.
Yamaha's quality is right up there with Suzuki & Honda but reliability is the same as Suzuki. Just a notch below Honda & Kawasaki.
I think it's safe to assume that first year bikes in this caliber(ultra-sporty high perf. bikes) will have some teething problems. That's why it's wise to wait 'till the following year. Case in point is the Busa & R1. You must remember that these bikes are pushing the envelope of engine & chassis performance so everything must be precisely made & put together. In addition, design flaws sometimes don't show themselves during racetrack testing and accelerated street testing. Thus, the engineers & designers can do everything they can to ensure the bike is reliable, but they can't predict every little variable that happens in the real world. Nor can they expect to duplicate every single environmental condition(whether it be racing/street/garage/commuting/touring/etc.) that their bikes will be subjected to.
A good rule of thumb is, don't buy a bike on the first year of its production, if you don't want to deal with recalls and other little problems.
Kawasaki reliability is a notch below Honda. Their build quality is also below that of Honda & Suzuki. However, I don't remember any recalls for any Kwaks for a while now. Suffice it to say, Suzuki isn't the only manufacturer who's had cam chain tensioner problems. The previous ZX6R had it and so did the ZX11. What's the difference? Kawasaki didn't issue a recall. Not sure about the current ZX12R. And the 9R? Many people have complained about its abrupt throttle response in the midrange during aggressive cornering. Not the kind of bike I would want when I'm really pushing. Not Honda, Yam, nor Suzuki would release a bike with such a condition.
Yamaha's quality is right up there with Suzuki & Honda but reliability is the same as Suzuki. Just a notch below Honda & Kawasaki.
I think it's safe to assume that first year bikes in this caliber(ultra-sporty high perf. bikes) will have some teething problems. That's why it's wise to wait 'till the following year. Case in point is the Busa & R1. You must remember that these bikes are pushing the envelope of engine & chassis performance so everything must be precisely made & put together. In addition, design flaws sometimes don't show themselves during racetrack testing and accelerated street testing. Thus, the engineers & designers can do everything they can to ensure the bike is reliable, but they can't predict every little variable that happens in the real world. Nor can they expect to duplicate every single environmental condition(whether it be racing/street/garage/commuting/touring/etc.) that their bikes will be subjected to.
A good rule of thumb is, don't buy a bike on the first year of its production, if you don't want to deal with recalls and other little problems.