All - Wondering if anyone else has bought a new bike still in its crate? Do dealerships / manufacturers even allow it??

Rather than trusting the current generation of bike "mechanics" to correctly do assembly / setup, I'd like to take delivery of a new ZX and assemble it myself. Do they include instructions? (even without, I feel sure I can do it)

Oh, anybody ever seen one in its crate in order to know how much assembly is required?

Thanks for whatever ya know ...

Can find a few crate videos. That I recall there were instructions in videos I watched but it's been a while. Seemed like most newer bikes really didn't need a lot done some even coming with the front tire so they just like needed windscreen, battery, and oil...along those lines.

would imagine a risk of warranty validity issues perhaps?

ex, Bought all 4 of my 14's in the crate. Bike is completely assembled short of wetting the battery installing the seat cover and windscreen. Chain is tight for shipping purposes. With all of them, I removed the fairings, wired up an old set of winkers for the back, used amber bulbs up front in the fairing.

Bike already has oil in it. And the gas from the factory is this side of race gas. One whiff and you dribble out of the side of the mouth, hungry for a full tank of that shit.

First gen's steering repacking, I found a crack dust cover that the top crown sits over. Plus a damaged front wheel bearing seal. Other than than that, the other 3 had zero assembly damage.

In fact, I traded in the silver '08 for a white one like yours. Started to strip it down and found it didn't have ABS, so I traded it back for a red ABS.

Only fear of the fist 2 minutes of the bike leaving the dealer drive, I have no clue about what the tech will do as far as sending the rpm past 4k for the first 600 miles. That will make or break the bike as far as ring seal.

The other 'don't touch' for me is wetting the battery. I have an initial process that will extend the battery's life to 8 or 9yrs, no your average 5yrs of wet and run. Hardly any cooking time on the initial battery charge at the dealer level.

As far as dealer/manu goes, it's more up to the dealer. Some do some don't. Gotta hit every dealer who will deal with a bike in the crate. Figure you can watch it roll out the crate, wet the battery, then tell the dealer to start it up. Shows it runs, all switches work, last thing is no test ride, short of circling the dealer parking lot so you can hear the rpms.

Ah, clean the brake discs because of the spray for shipping purposes. No wipe, squeaky brakes.

Never filed a warranty claim of any of my 14's. As bulletproof from the first gen to 3rd gen.

When I was working at dealerships I often had to uncrate the bikes. Front wheels and windshield are usually off. On some models the handlebars were off too. It's really not much.
On the 2006 Ducati Desmosedici, I waz the ONLY person allowed to touch the bike, including uncrating it since I was certified by Ducati in Bologna.

Mad

Thanks for the replies, dudes Bunch of good info, thanks. I'll start calling dealers to see if I can find one that will do it.