I'm surprised by "Suzuki" and "Yamaha". Granted, it was back in the late 70's, but I raced motocross for both Yamaha and Suzuki, and they could not have been better to work with and they both had a fantastic product. I also owned a 1979 Harley 1000 Sportster. It was absolute junk and Harley definitely couldn't possibly care less for me, the customer. I had such a poor experience with Harley Davidson that I still will not consider one of their products to this day. They may have been (and still may be) the absolute best in the world at selling a "persona" and selling the "cool" factor in their marketing of their product, but I've seen case after case where they ignore the owner when their product fails. I understand their product has improved now, but back in the 70's, I could not imagine a less reliable product. My personal experience with these three manufacturers is the exact opposite as what you say you had.