Any Japanese bike is nearly bullet proof. I wrenched on about everything on two wheels in the last 15-20 years, and rice burners are by far the most dependable thing on the road. The newer Triumph bikes are also very good and very well made. The Italian bikes are well made, but require a lot of time and effort and don't have a very good dealer network right now. Buell still has some kinks to work out, good bikes, but still a little rough around the edges sometimes. HD, don't get me started. BMW make great bikes, but are high and not many dealers around.
Depending on the style bike you want, you can probably find it fairly close and have a dealer network behind it for repairs and parts. You may change your mind in terms of type of bike you want, but you won't regret any japanese bike in terms of dependability.
