I've narrowed my choices down to a Honda HRX217 and the Toro Super Recycler.

Both are rated as being excellent mulchers, both have decks that will never rust or rot out; the Honda has a polymer deck (Nexite) and the Toro is cast aluminum.

My neighbor across the street mowed my grass for me this past Saturday as I was busy getting ready for my 2 year old's birthday party and he's got the Honda HRX217 and the thing is awesome. That Nexite deck is just cool as hell, it's like the Glock of lawn mowers!

quote:

he's got the Honda HRX217 and the thing is awesome.

That's the mower I have. If you go back to page 1 of this thread....

Toro Personal Pace

I've had both, the Honda mulches better.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I've narrowed my choices down to a Honda HRX217 and the Toro Super Recycler.

Both are rated as being excellent mulchers, both have decks that will never rust or rot out; the Honda has a polymer deck (Nexite) and the Toro is cast aluminum.

My neighbor across the street mowed my grass for me this past Saturday as I was busy getting ready for my 2 year old's birthday party and he's got the Honda HRX217 and the thing is awesome. That Nexite deck is just cool as hell, it's like the Glock of lawn mowers!

I can also give two thumbs up for the HRX217. My Sunday School class does a good bit of charity yard work, so I have a lot of opportunities to test my mower in jungle-like conditions. My Honda always chews through the thick stuff better than the other mowers in our group, be they Huskys, Toros, Craftsmen, whatever.

My only caveat is that this mower seems to be more sensitive to ethanol fuels than my previous B&S engine'd mower. Once I found a good ethanol free source, it runs like a scalded dog.

Ok, range... er... lawn report

TL;DR: It works great and I love it!

Picked up the Honda HRR216PKA yesterday. Started right up on the first pull. (More on that below.) Being as the grass got Real Long, again, I bagged. Despite the grass being longer than I should have let it get, and damp to the point of almost-wet, the new push mower went through it like a hot knife through butter.

Even when I dropped the deck a half inch for a newly-seeded area that established grass seemed to be starving-out for air, sun and nutrients: It never slowed down in the slightest.

Nice cut, too. Shreds the clippings very finely. Very easy to push and pull around, which is very important for a trim mower. I found deck height adjustment to be convenient, as was removing and re-placing the bag. (Those last two may seem trivial observations, but both of those were a PITA on the old mower.)

Starting. I don't know if the engine has automatic compression release in it or what, but the recoil starter is incredibly easy to pull through. My wife, who had serious problems starting the nine-year-old Ariens with a Kohler engine, found it delightfully easy when I had her try it on this new mower.

Usually I buy contractor- or professional-grade power tools and lawn equipment, but I saved myself about $350 over Honda's commercial equivalent, going with this mower. If this first run is indicative of what I can expect in the long term, I believe I made the right decision.

I am comparing models within the HRX217 series to see which of the available self-propelled controls will work best. There are two options: Select Drive, and Hydrostatic Cruise Control.

The biggest complaints people seem to have with the Honda mowers are with the self-propelled controls. If you have an HRX217, which controls do you recommend? Does your HRX217 model have the blade stop?

I prefer simple and durable.

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
I prefer simple and durable.

Then maybe you don't want self-propelled. A number of times I've read "The self-propelling drive gave out <murfl> years ago, but it still cuts grass just fine." I've read this about all makes and models.

Heck, I'm 68 years old and just pushed a non-self-propelled Honda over the inside and outside perimeters of some 20,000 to 25,000 sqft of lawn, uneven ground, much of it sloping, pushing it into and pulling it back out of corners and under trees for a good bit of it. That included hauling a full bag of clippings even further out back to dump in the composting area.

It's good exercise

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
I prefer simple and durable.

Then maybe you don't want self-propelled.

It's good exercise

I have lung disease, and if it is self-propelled I can balance things so I get the exercise I need without getting into breathing trouble from over exerting.

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
I am comparing models within the HRX217 series to see which of the available self-propelled controls will work best. There are two options: Select Drive, and Hydrostatic Cruise Control.

The biggest complaints people seem to have with the Honda mowers are with the self-propelled controls. If you have an HRX217, which controls do you recommend? Does your HRX217 model have the blade stop?

I prefer simple and durable.

I have the paddle style "Smart Drive". Having never previously owned a self propelled, it took a bit to get use to it, now it's no issue at all. The wheels do spin sometimes on uneven or in excessively wet or dry conditions.

I think they all have the blade stop when you release the bar.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

I have the paddle style "Smart Drive". Having never previously owned a self propelled, it took a bit to get use to it, now it's no issue at all. The wheels do spin sometimes on uneven or in excessively wet or dry conditions.

I think they all have the blade stop when you release the bar.

Which model number Honda mower do you have?

My apologies, mine is 216, not 217. Disregard what I said.

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
I have lung disease, and if it is self-propelled I can balance things so I get the exercise I need without getting into breathing trouble from over exerting.

Ah. Well, that's a different story. Makes sense, then.

Has anyone here had any issues with the rear wheels on their Honda mower locking up when you pull the mower backward? I have seen some reviews online that mention this, and I noticed it today while comparing models within the 217 series at Home Depot.

Those of you who have an HRX217 series model, do you have one with the brake clutch? I understand the utility of it, but I wasn't impressed with the way this option changes the speed control components. With the exposed spring, the mechanism looks to me like a good candidate for mechanical failure down the road.

I liked the HRX217VKA model, which is the base model of the HRX217 series. I'm not sure the blade clutch is worth an extra $150, and I do not need the electric start.

For the extra money moving up from the 216 to 217 series, you get a larger motor, larger wheels, two extra years of warranty, a larger bag, and the polymer deck. The $379 model seems to be a good value. Looking at them side by side, I prefer the wheels of the 217.

Both mowers are a lot larger than the MTD I've used for years.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ho...-HRX217VKA/304811171

My $0.02 -- find and use unleaded gas without ethanol.

So I was at a street fair this past Saturday in my town and there was a guy from a local mower shop set up with a tent/booth and had some of the equipment he sells set up there.

Walking up to him, I could have sworn this was a Honda mower but it was a Masport. has anyone ever heard of them? From New Zealand and apparently have been building mowers since 1910.

I found it very Honda HRX-like in both looks and features:



Another thing I'm seeing now that I'm looking at various mowers and paying more attention to them than before is that many of them seem to have two much larger rear wheels and not 4 wheels of the same size. What is the purpose of that? Is it better?

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
Has anyone here had any issues with the rear wheels on their Honda mower locking up when you pull the mower backward? I have seen some reviews online that mention this, and I noticed it today while comparing models within the 217 series at Home Depot.

Those of you who have an HRX217 series model, do you have one with the brake clutch? I understand the utility of it, but I wasn't impressed with the way this option changes the speed control components. With the exposed spring, the mechanism looks to me like a good candidate for mechanical failure down the road.

I liked the HRX217VKA model, which is the base model of the HRX217 series. I'm not sure the blade clutch is worth an extra $150, and I do not need the electric start.

For the extra money moving up from the 216 to 217 series, you get a larger motor, larger wheels, two extra years of warranty, a larger bag, and the polymer deck. The $379 model seems to be a good value. Looking at them side by side, I prefer the wheels of the 217.

Both mowers are a lot larger than the MTD I've used for years.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ho...-HRX217VKA/304811171

I have the blade stop on mine. I don't know if it's worth $150, but I like having it. It hasn't given me any problems and I don't suspect it ever will. It's nice to be able to keep the engine going with the blade stopped when I come across one of my kids' toys in the yard or when I'm moving from one area to another. It's this model, just a few year old:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ho...-HRX217HYA/305114163

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
Has anyone here had any issues with the rear wheels on their Honda mower locking up when you pull the mower backward?

I think this happens to most self-propelled mowers and comes from you not letting off the self propel mechanism and giving it a second or two to disengage before pulling the mower back.

My Craftsman feels like I'm trying to drag a tank backwards if I don't let off the self propel bar 2-3 seconds before the end of a forward stretch and I want to pull the mower back. If I ease off and give it a couple seconds, it pulls back relatively easily.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
Has anyone here had any issues with the rear wheels on their Honda mower locking up when you pull the mower backward?

I think this happens to most self-propelled mowers and comes from you not letting off the self propel mechanism and giving it a second or two to disengage before pulling the mower back.

My Craftsman feels like I'm trying to drag a tank backwards if I don't let off the self propel bar 2-3 seconds before the end of a forward stretch and I want to pull the mower back. If I ease off and give it a couple seconds, it pulls back relatively easily.

I have a ~14 year old HRX217HXA that's been running like a champ since day one except for this issue.

It's been to the shop twice so far to fix it.

There is a plastic (of course) pinion gear, pinion gear collar, wheel bearing, plastic washer's and other assorted plastic bits inside the drive-wheel assembly that eventually wear out.

As the wear worsens, not only will it become more difficult to pull the mower backwards, but it will become all but impossible to turn/pivot the mower as well (on its rear wheels).

I was told that post-mowing hose-downs can hasten the wear, so I have stopped doing that for the most part. There is some sort of grease or lubricant on the gears that gets washed away with hose-downs.

Cost to repair at the shop (Canns Bilco in Albertis, PA) has been around $75 or so, but I had the full maintenance service peformed as well, so forgive me if that price is off.

Now, the last time I had this repair performed, this past Spring, the shop advised that the shaft bearings or such in a sealed part of the 'transmission' was starting 'to go', and the cost to REPLACE it (repair not an option) was within $250 or so of a new Honda.

I went for the "let's fix what we can for now" option, and we'll see how much longer the transmission runs before it gives up the ghost.

Rob

I have the Honda HRX217HYA with the hydrostatic drive; it's been a great mower with zero issues.