Just got some genuine Honda 217 parts delivered from the USA, = arrived in 7 days!
Parts I ordered locally (about 40km away) still haven't turned up after more than 2 weeks.
Part numbers and prices for anyone interested.
I get the front wheel/tyre assemblies and swap the existing rear drive gear onto them when the tyre wears out. (the gear doesn't wear much, and when you reverse it the driven side of the teeth is virtually new) It's easy enough to do with a soldering iron to melt the plastic.
44710-VH7-000ZA WHEEL, FR. *NH164* (Honda Code 7648165) x4 $7.62 $30.48
SubTotal $30.48
Shipping Fee $11.99
Grand Total $42.47
I've been quoted over $30 per wheel here in Australia with no guarantee of delivery time.
42661-VH7-000 GEAR, PINION (13T) (Honda Code 7586019) x2 $2.33 $4.66
42668-VE2-800 SPRING (Honda Code 4012019) x2 $0.07 $0.14
42672-VE2-800 KEY, RATCHET (Honda Code 4010278) x4 $0.17 $0.68
54630-VH7-A02 CABLE, CHANGE (Honda Code 8302481) 1 $5.23 $5.23
72511-VH7-000 BLADE, ROTARY (Honda Code 7586233) x4 $9.41 $37.64
72531-VH7-000 BLADE, ROTARY (Honda Code 7586241) x2 $9.41 $18.82
75150-VE1-R00 DISK, DRIVEN (Honda Code 7379043) 1 $16.41 $16.41
SubTotal $83.58
Shipping Fee $15.99
Grand Total $99.57
$10ea for blades ............. How much are you blokes paying from the local Honda dealers ??
The entire plastic deck assembly including shutters and ramps delivered to my door is under $200 AU ($147 USD), but that plastic deck is still bashing on from the 1st mower I imported. Still good to know - I remember the alloy HRU 216 deck was over $350 locally - and that was 10 years ago.