Originally Posted by
soyabean
For most novice riders, that would be fine, but most enthusiasts will remove the default (thick and heavy) shipping grease that is on all new chains, and re-lube with their favorite lube.
In the past I left it on (other than cleaning the outer surfaces) Nowadays, I've switched over to liquid wax based stuff because it's so much cleaner and we do a lot of loading the bikes in and out of cars and such and got tired of greasy tatoos on skin, clothing and everywhere else. Since we almost exclusively ride in dry conditions, it's working fine. But that factory lube - whatever it is - sure worked well and lasted a long time.