Who here thinks Kawasaki is the best bike maker and why?

In 1976 I rode my H1 to Miller Honda in Winchester, Virginia. I was weary of the three cylinder over heating and wanted a bike that was capable of longer rides. I first test rode a 750 Honda. Having just ridden the H1 I was unimpressed with the Honda's power.
The next bike was a KZ900 and the adventure started.
I still have it. All it lacks is a battery and fuel.
Bill

Speaking of ease of maintenance my friend who I helped restore that 70 and also a 72 CB750 decided to do some extra engine work on the 72. So of course we needed to strip the bike to pull the engine. We decided to remove almost everything so we would not chip all the powder coat as we pulled the very tight fitting engine. If you not familiar with the early bikes Honda decided not to install exhaust valve guide seals on the stellite valves. The guy who did the head work insisted not to replace those guides because he considered them not to be worn because of the stellite coating and of course they would ruin the originality. I thought that was a mistake, I argued that Honda started to use seals shortly into the production years for a reason. He ended up with an engine that had excessive smoking from the oil working down those valves. We used heavy duty cylinder studs which caused a bit more pooling around those guides which also did not help. So we sent the head to a company called cycle X to rework those heads. And of course we had to assemble everything again. What a pain.

I can pull a complete Z1 engine in a few hours if need without chipping anything
 

Good point, well made (slmjim BEBE)  
It is of course a very subjective thing.
To me it feels like with the Z1 they created the first real mass produced superbike, of course saying that in itself creates debate like which was the first real muscle car? The 50s chrysler 300? The 57 plymouth Belvedere or 58 fury? The pontiac gto? 
I guess it's more of a personal thing from person to person 

Glad to hear it SF4T7   a friend of mine in the mid 80s on a whim decided to go to france on his 75 z1b and his friend joined him on a 1980 z1000st just like mine,
the idea was to take in the countryside and come home with many bottles of wine!
my friends z1b was quite tuned up, gas flowed, bigger carbs on bellmouths, cams dialled in etc.
he said once he had many wine bottles in a top box mounted on the back he had to be careful not to accelerate too hard because the front wheel kept coming up! 

I have always said that motorcycling is about personal preferences. I began riding motorcycles in 1974, when Kawasaki ruled the streets, so I may be bias about my preferences.  My first motorcycle job during the mid-70's was working at a Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki dealership in my hometown. I even quit college to work full time at the dealership.

Ended up at a Honda/Triumph dealership at the end of the decade, dreaming of someday buying a CBX; but as life goes it never happened. In the early 1980's, after relocating to Brooklyn,  I was fortunate to work with a multi-brand dealership in Brooklyn (King Motorcyles) which carried most brands but specialized in European brands, mostly Italian bikes. 

In my opinion, there is a model or two of most Japanese brands which I like, but I always trace my passion for two wheels back to my first street Kawasaki. 

Mach IV 750   super cool and I'm not too familiar with modern bikes... but zzr1200?  (In the uk atleast!)
Excellent story.
Yes the cbx is and will always be very special. 
In the 90s I had two uncles one with a Canadian import Suzuki gs1100G and the other with a similar age xs1100,  both very cool bikes. 
 

I you ran the "big four" Jap engines from our era (1972-1982) with no engine oil till they stopped running the one that would probably stop last would be the Kawasaki. 

I you ran the "big four" Jap engines from our era (1972-1982) with no engine oil till they stopped running the one that would probably stop last would be the Kawasaki. 

alternative test. with oil, WOT, on the center stand (no fan). years ago someone did this to a KZ750-4 on youtube. it ran for quite a while, considering the abuse. pretty sure it was a 4 cylinder. never could find that video again.

This will always be my favorite bike.  I wish I could still ride it..... 

It is true that Japan offers European sophistication, and outstanding reliability, for 2/3 of the price,...... due to their continuous reinvesting in manufacturing,

....but that extends to virtually all their products,...including industrial..

Yes when it comes to manufacture and development the Japanese are outstanding, they put so much back into R&D , they know they must understand the competition, match, improve and continually develop.
that's another big reason why I love Kawasaki it's such a big and varied powerhouse, I know suzuki, honda and Yamaha have other industries and you can find their name on other things but it's still mind boggling that the Kawasaki motorcycle division is the tip of a big iceberg, never mind jet skis and generators, they make industrial diesel engines, gas and jet turbines, gears and machinery, plant equipment, major plants produce steel, cement ,chemicals, liquefied nitrogen gas, high rise building frames, bridges, storage tanks, rolling stock, components for nuclear power plants, high pressure boilers, heat exchangers, large scale solar energy systems and much more. 
its really quite amazing 

The biology lab at my high school had Kawasaki microscopes.