Here's my 2 cents worth:
Bike brand loyalty is a good thing. I was loyal to Husqvarna from 1976 to 1984. In those days they were the "best" bikes to ride enduro's. I then rode KTM's until 1988. In 1989 I switched to Jap bikes because I got tired of getting my ass kicked by the "rice burners". I have owned at least one bike of every Jap brand since 1989. I found them fast, and reliable; which offset the $ I spent on suspension work.
I now have a KTM 200, and I love it because KTM got it right. Here is a light weight bike with plenty of power and comes with all the enduro goodies. I hope it proves to be as reliable as my Honda's were.
My point is that I buy the best bike for me at any given time. That is, I buy what I think I can win on. A huge part of winning is reliability, and quite frankly, my Honda's have been way more reliable than any Euro bike that I have owned to date.
Ride what you like. Tell people why it works best for you. Do, however, keep in mind that some other brand may work best for someone else. I tease plenty of people about "their" ride, but I be careful not to flame them.
After all, after years of riding Honda's and picking on KTM, I now have to eat a lot of crow while riding orange.
old guy.