I think you misunderstood my (long winded) question. I understand the smaller parts that have multiple applications like electronics, carbarators, throttle bodies, etc. that make sense. What I don't understand is why Kawasaki would outsource the variable valve timing of the motor to Mitsubishi. Also, why Mitsubishi would want to take on thatjob for a one off system as it is only used in the Concours 14 as far as I have been able to tell from the reading I've done.
I found this info on the VVT.
Variable Valve Timing
The big difference between the two engines was the Concours’ Variable Valve Timing system, or VVT. With 45 fewer ponies than its sibling, the ZG’s engine might be expected to lose some of the ZX’s thrilling midrange urge as well, but in fact it didn't, thanks to Kawasaki’s VVT, and that was a really neat thing. Here’'s how that came about. From the standpoint of power, the most important single event in any four-stroke engine is the intake valve’'s closing point. This is because the air column racing down the intake tract into the cylinder has mass, and therefore weight, inertia, and most importantly, momentum.
Pressurized engine oil is fed to a ECU-triggered shuttle (oil contol valve, or OCD) valve, which pushes, though a hydraulic drum, the intake cam forward, and though channels, back again. The OCD has its own ECU fault code.
Momentum’'s energy is spent as the air column travels down the manifold, slowing as it nears the open intake valve. Engine designers time the intake valve’s closing to coincide with the air’ column's eventual slowing and stopping, thus taking maximum advantage of the power potential. The problem is, with changes in rpm come other changes that make the ideal intake valve closing point vary. Kawasaki’s VVT moves the intake valve’s closing point forward and backward to ride or “surf” this ever-changing best closing time, thereby maximizing cylinder filling efficiency at a wider range of rpm. Though in recognizable use in the car world, it's the first time this technology has been implemented in a motorcycle.