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I've owned 3 Italian bikes, a German bike, and 2 Japanese bikes.
Italian
2001 Ducati 748S - warranty clutch at 6k miles, some twitchy electronics. Beside that no issues.
2001 Aprilia SL1000 Falco - never a single issue. Scared little children when started.
2012 Ducati Diavel Carbon - engine plug seal @ 7k-ish, faulty thermostat. Bedside that no issues
German
2006 BMW K1200R - major tranny issue, 2nd gear unusable at 7k miles, $4000 repair, sold bike as was instead. Known issue that BMW wouldn't cover since I was just outside of warranty.
Japanese
1990 Suzuki GS500 - bad voltage regulator and pinched wires causing erratic kill of engine. It was from old age. Engine and transmission bulletproof. Ran it until it ran no more (including many track days and hard canyon runs)
2000 Suzuki SV650 - raced, crashed, duct taped, raced and crashed more, ran hard 100% of the time, never an issue except front brakes failed once (fluid came out) more likely my own fault there. That engine was a tank.
Overall the worst issue I've had on a bike has been with my BMW. I still love BMW though. The point is there can be a lemon with any brand, and some models/years of any brand can have known issues.
Ducati has been notorious for crap electronics, but have gotten much better. My 748S would literally have headlights flickering during a drizzle. My Diavel hasn't had a single electrical issue and I've ridden it in some heavy downpours.
Amazingly, my Aprilia was the one bike I never had a single issue with.
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