Honda 350 and Suzuki 400. Both had engines that couldn't make it past 15K miles. The Honda was the SL model with spark arresting pipes. The innards of those mufflers would break loose and start rattling about in under 3K miles.
My '54 Velocette would be called unreliable by those who didn't know how to start it, but I had no problems with it. Same thing with my '39 ULH and '57 Panhead. If you knew how to start them, it was first kick nearly all the time.
Come to think of it, my '49 Triumph could be difficult starting. Hold down the tickler 3 seconds too long and it took some 30 - 50 kicks. 3 seconds too short and it wouldn't start. I learned to cheat, tickle one carb a little longer than the other. Then it would start on one cylinder and then the other would take off.
