What needs to be done to a crated motorcycle?

[berth]

As I understand it, motorcycles arrive at dealers in a crate, partially disassembled, and the dealers take them and put them back together.

I'm just curious what the state is of crated motorcycle.

Is it more than the front wheel removed, and, perhaps, needing gas and oil? Are there any fluids in the bike (brake fluid, radiator fluid)? Any other parts that need to be put back on?

 

[David919]

Back in the mid80s when I worked for Hayward Kawasaki Jetski, most the bikes came assembled on a flat bed truck. Occasionally we'd get one in a crate and it only needed mirrors, windshield, breakable type stuff mounted. All fluids were in it from the factory. After the mechanic put all the loose stuff on, or the bike unloaded, he'd do a safety check and quick test ride. I don't think things have changed much, as I still see fully assembled new bikes on flat beds from time to time.

 

[KazMan]

As far as I know, 90+% of the motorcycles still arrive at the dealership as mentioned by David919. Thus, the dealership, has to include "setup" as part of the fee for the bike, as they have to pay the company which receives the motorcycles from multiple brands, assembles them, and then delivers them, to the dealerships in their service region.

 

[turboLT]

Whenever I ship bikes with a moto shipping company the fluids are ok but when we've used moving companies all motors had to be drained of fluids. :rolleyes

I guess I'm not surprised the bikes come mostly assembled with fluids since presumably they are test ridden before shipping.

KazMan does that mean bikes aren't test ridden prior to leaving the factory?

 

[NoTraffic]

Whenever I ship bikes with a moto shipping company the fluids are ok but when we've used moving companies all motors had to be drained of fluids. :rolleyes

I guess I'm not surprised the bikes come mostly assembled with fluids since presumably they are test ridden before shipping.

KazMan does that mean bikes aren't test ridden prior to leaving the factory?

I wouldn't even fathom any vehicle manufacturer test riding a fully assembled production vehicle prior to shipping. Each engine and critical component is put through a series of tests prior to final assembly.

 

[Map8]

As far as I know, 90+% of the motorcycles still arrive at the dealership as mentioned by David919. Thus, the dealership, has to include "setup" as part of the fee for the bike, as they have to pay the company which receives the motorcycles from multiple brands, assembles them, and then delivers them, to the dealerships in their service region.

Bikes that arrive on flat beds likely come from a paid storage facility owned/rented/leased by the dealer and sometimes shared among dealerships. There used to be a few very large warehouses that stored excess inventory as dealer showrooms cannot hold all the bikes a dealer sells in a year. Those flatbed arrivals are uncrated at the storage facility and some prep is done there but not final prep. Those warehouses may still exist but I'm not sure of their status after the Great Recession and the toll it took on dealerships and the industry.

Bikes that arrive in crates have to be uncrated, usually need windscreens, batteries, seats and some other accessories installed along with protective film removed from exhaust silencers and other parts of the bike or bodywork. Fuel has to added, the battery charged, the bike nut and bolted, all fluids checked and everything else you see on the PDI sheet (Pre-delivery inspection). There is labor involved in prepping a bike and there are shipping charges from the port of arrival and storage/shipping costs.

 

[Strigoi]

Harleys come mostly together. Sometimes a windshield and a cover or two may need to be put on. The bikes do not ship with gas/oil in them.

Back in the day some would come without the handlebars attached. That was a pain in the ass having to put them on before being able to pull them off the pallet. They also came surrounded in cardboard and a couple pieces of metal. Had to pull probably 30+ screws from each one. Uncrating 25 bikes would be an all day job for 2 people. It's much easier the way they're done now. Only takes a minute or so to get it off the skid that it's shipped on.

 

[bikeama]

Harleys come mostly together. Sometimes a windshield and a cover or two may need to be put on. The bikes do not ship with gas/oil in them.

Back in the day some would come without the handlebars attached. That was a pain in the ass having to put them on before being able to pull them off the pallet. They also came surrounded in cardboard and a couple pieces of metal. Had to pull probably 30+ screws from each one. Uncrating 25 bikes would be an all day job for 2 people. It's much easier the way they're done now. Only takes a minute or so to get it off the skid that it's shipped on.

I did the HD York factory tour :thumbup Every bike is started and ran on a dyno. A few are pulled off for a test ride.


youtu.be/rFDAzRRCu2I

 

[russ69]

I think the answer is that each model of bike is different.

 

[Maddevill]

I'm most familiar with Ducati, KTM and Triumph. All we did was open the crate, install the front wheel, install the bars, check all the fluids, service and install the battery, check fluids, start and test all operations. Not a very hard job.