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Thread: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU ???

  1. #31
    Senior Member dave hirst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    i think arfas in lurv ;=)

  2. #32
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Quote Originally Posted by SM MOWING View Post
    what i dont get is in the email they say they "listen" to what dealers say and get feedback from there customer base..........THEY MAY GET IT BUT THEY DEFINATELY DONT LISTEN AND DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!
    Bear with me for the following story - it has a point.

    When I was a kid, "Uncle Cec" lived down the street on the corner. We were in a "Service housing" area of west Sydney for ex servicemen. Uncle Cec was a veteran of the Pacific Islands defense, and ended up a POW in Japanese camp.
    Cec and his wife Jeanie were the kindest people you would ever wish to meet, and Cec in particular was there for the local kids. He was "Uncle Cec" to everybody. He broke up fights, looked for lost cats, fixed bikes, patched skinned knees and was always there to listen when the world sucked. Quietly spoken and gentle, it seemed odd some nights - when it was warm, the windows open and the night still, you could hear him screaming. The memory still sends me cold.
    Before he passed away in 1987 , I used to visit him in hospital when he'd had a bad turn. One day we'd got to talking and I asked him something I'd always been too polite to ask before. How come him and Jeanie didn't ever have any kids ? He would have made the worlds best Dad.
    When he was in the POW camp, he was like most of the other Aussies, never a quitter, he had attempted 2x escapes in the first few weeks he was there, and done his best to ease the suffering of the other prisoners. The Japs didn't like him because he had "spirit", he wouldn't bend over no matter what they did to him - so it made him a bit of a target.
    One day he was looking after a fairly crook fellow POW, when a Japanese officer who had a particular set against him, ordered him back to his quarters.At the time he was showing a photo of his girlfriend (Jeanie) to the other POW. When he went to pocket the photo, the Officer took it off him. When Cec went to get it back the Officer was knocked to the ground in front of a lower rank Japanese soldier. The Jap officer called for support, and while 5 other Japanese soldiers held Cec down they cut out his testicles and penis. Cec said they were cheering and laughing as they did it. That's why him and Jeanie never had kids. She still called him her "beautiful man" even when they were old and grey, they had planned to settle down when he returned from service and have a family, and she remained devoted and loyal till the day he died.
    I asked " is that why you used to scream sometimes at night?, but he shook his head "no" and couldn't speak anymore for emotion.
    Jeanie later told me that after he was castrated he got badly infected, and collapsed one day during work detail. When one of the Japanese soldiers started kicking him to get up, a few of his mates stepped in. One of his mates got bayonetted in the guts and died in agony about 5 days later. Cec used to have nightmares about his mate, and how he was responsible but couldn't stop it from happening.
    I don't know how he did it but he didn't hold a grudge against the Japanese - he was a true hero. His attitude was that politicians, power and greed were the only guilty parties, and that men only do cruel things because that is what they are forced to do by war. Bloody saint.

    The ANZACS fought for the Aussie way of life - stand proud, help your mates and take crap of no-one.
    What would they think of a gutless bunch of blokes who regularly bend over and get reamed by Honda - with no more than a muffled whimper. It took 6 soldiers and a knife to remove Cec's balls, but no more than lazy apathy to remove the balls of todays Aussies.

    Today's Australia isn't what the ANZACS suffered for - it's what we've let it become through apathy and complacency.

    Fight you gutless bastards - don't take crap, COMPLAIN, purchase elsewhere, do something - anything, but bend over and whimper.

    Rant over

    Sorry SM mowing this isn't a shot at you - you just hit a nerve.
    Last edited by Arfa Brayne; 19-12-2012 at 04:50 PM. Reason: apology to sm mowing
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  3. #33
    Senior Member Blaktop's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Great story Arfa.

  4. #34
    Senior Member Lawn Mowing Professionals's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Thanks Arfa for the previous story about Uncle Cec, some how i missed it earlier... much appreciated!

    Just curious if you have purchased a Rover procut 560 before or considered purchasing one? I would love to know your thoughts and possible mods etc.

    BTW - even though i don't own a Honda or Chonda I love reading your mods.. I have even contemplated purchasing a Honda just to try your mods and understand it better

    Simmo.

  5. #35
    Senior Member Lawn Mowing Professionals's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Double post...

    Simmo.

  6. #36
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Mower number 2 arrived yesterday from Speedway sales in the USA - It didn't take long to realise that these American Hondas leave our Aussie dinosaurs in the dust - so I ordered my 2nd HRX217HYA. on the 19th December and they shipped it on the 20th Dec.
    This one only took 7 days to arrive - OVER CHRISTMAS RUSH PERIOD !!
    Included in the box were 8x spare bar blades I ordered at $13 each, which makes them $1 cheaper than a pair of the bulk buy ride on blades I use on the HRU - with no bolts and washers to buy.

    Dave Hirst was right = "I'm in Lurv"
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  7. #37
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Quote Originally Posted by Lawn Mowing Professionals View Post
    Thanks Arfa for the previous story about Uncle Cec, some how i missed it earlier... much appreciated!

    Just curious if you have purchased a Rover procut 560 before or considered purchasing one? I would love to know your thoughts and possible mods etc.

    BTW - even though i don't own a Honda or Chonda I love reading your mods.. I have even contemplated purchasing a Honda just to try your mods and understand it better

    Simmo.
    Thanks Simmo
    I ran Rover Mulch & Catch 20inch Self drive mowers when I first started. Briggs 5.5 IC motors with the chain drive. Dunno how similar they are to the 560, but I'd gamble they are mechanically similar.
    They were a good mower, cut wet grass better than Honda Self drives, and the 5.5 briggs could be pushed to go pretty hard with some porting and a head shave, and the drive speed could be increased with a speed sprocket, but the killer was the durability - particularly the self drive system. PTO on the motor went via a chain to a cork clutch (last seen on a Hudson terraplane circa 1945) then a 2nd chain to the rear drive axle which drove gears inside the rear wheels via stupid little shuttle plates in the gears. Everything wore out pretty quick, the shuttle plates would jam or not engage, the gears got sloppy on the shafts, chains stretched, guides wore and the cork clutch facing would come away from the drive plate. It required a full rebuild every 6 months of duty.
    Front axles often broke or bent, as did the handles, and after 18 months the motor needed re-ring to do something about the amount of smoke they'd blow.
    Catchers needed re-enforcing because the bib that goes into the mower would break and bend down - snagging on the lawn, and only about 55 litre capacity.
    When they were going well, they were a great mower - fast, powerful, caught well wet or dry. Mulching was to the standard of a clogged catcher - in fact I used to mow pulling the mower backwards sometimes to avoid a terrible mulch job. All in all just too much maintenence to compensate for it's abilities compared to the Hondas, which went twice as long with a quarter the problems. Only downside to the Hondas was wet grass and power - which so far are no longer a problem with the American Hondas I've imported.

    Hope you had a good Chrissy - best wishes for 2013.
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  8. #38
    Member hjl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Hi Arfa Brayne
    How much does it cost to have a mower posted from speedway sales to Australia? Any other costs to know about?
    I am a bit interested in the Honda HRS216SDA that speedway sales have.
    Have a good new year.
    Cheers
    hjl

  9. #39
    Senior Member Lawn Mowing Professionals's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Quote Originally Posted by Arfa Brayne View Post
    Thanks Simmo
    I ran Rover Mulch & Catch 20inch Self drive mowers when I first started. Briggs 5.5 IC motors with the chain drive. Dunno how similar they are to the 560, but I'd gamble they are mechanically similar.
    They were a good mower, cut wet grass better than Honda Self drives, and the 5.5 briggs could be pushed to go pretty hard with some porting and a head shave, and the drive speed could be increased with a speed sprocket, but the killer was the durability - particularly the self drive system. PTO on the motor went via a chain to a cork clutch (last seen on a Hudson terraplane circa 1945) then a 2nd chain to the rear drive axle which drove gears inside the rear wheels via stupid little shuttle plates in the gears. Everything wore out pretty quick, the shuttle plates would jam or not engage, the gears got sloppy on the shafts, chains stretched, guides wore and the cork clutch facing would come away from the drive plate. It required a full rebuild every 6 months of duty.
    Front axles often broke or bent, as did the handles, and after 18 months the motor needed re-ring to do something about the amount of smoke they'd blow.
    Catchers needed re-enforcing because the bib that goes into the mower would break and bend down - snagging on the lawn, and only about 55 litre capacity.
    When they were going well, they were a great mower - fast, powerful, caught well wet or dry. Mulching was to the standard of a clogged catcher - in fact I used to mow pulling the mower backwards sometimes to avoid a terrible mulch job. All in all just too much maintenence to compensate for it's abilities compared to the Hondas, which went twice as long with a quarter the problems. Only downside to the Hondas was wet grass and power - which so far are no longer a problem with the American Hondas I've imported.

    Hope you had a good Chrissy - best wishes for 2013.
    Thanks Arfa.

    Simmo.

  10. #40
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Quote Originally Posted by hjl View Post
    Hi Arfa Brayne
    How much does it cost to have a mower posted from speedway sales to Australia? Any other costs to know about?
    I am a bit interested in the Honda HRS216SDA that speedway sales have.
    Have a good new year.
    Cheers
    hjl
    Costs $331 to my door in Wollongong. 7-9 days delivered after payment.
    Speedway have free delivery in the USA on their online store, and a basic freight amount for international delivery - but the amount shown isn't correct. Check all details with them by email first before paying to avoid delayed sale due to freight varyations.
    $331 seems a lot of cash, but i bet if you were in the UK You'd gladly pay $331 to save more than $1,400.00 on the Identical mower. (UK = HYA537 for 1,225 POUNDS, USA = HYA217 for $680 + $331 = $1,011)
    Last edited by Arfa Brayne; 30-12-2012 at 07:28 PM. Reason: extra details
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  11. #41
    Member hjl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Hi Arfa Brayne
    Thanks for your reply.
    hjl

  12. #42
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Quote Originally Posted by hjl View Post
    Hi Arfa Brayne
    How much does it cost to have a mower posted from speedway sales to Australia? Any other costs to know about?
    I am a bit interested in the Honda HRS216SDA that speedway sales have.
    Have a good new year.
    Cheers
    hjl
    Had time to have a look at the mower You're talking about - Price + Freight you're looking at $700-$750. Too much in my opinion for a 160cc mulcher that only self propels at 2.5mph (1st gear on a HRU 216 roughly) = too slow for commercial mowing. Might be better off with a local Masport + Briggs combination pushie.
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  13. #43
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Got an Email today from Speedway Sales in the USA regarding my enquiries about becoming an Australian agent for them. (Yeah I know "I'm in LURV" )
    Short story is that Honda USA do not allow their product to be sold outside the USA. - no surprises there !!
    BUT = I'm gunna keep stirring because I believe Australians are not retarded morons who deserve to be gratefull for the 2nd rate crap they pay a kings ransom for.

    If you bought a Commodore Ute and got charged the price of a top of the line V8 Holden Statesman, you'd complain. But that's what most Aussie contractors are doing with the HRU216M2

    Here is an example where I'm buying a top of the line V8 Cadillac (HRX217HYA) and getting it imported to my door for less than 65% the price of a Commodore Ute (HRU216M2).

    So ask yourself - "Am I being ripped off ??" and "What can I do about it ??"

    .
    .
    .
    .
    Nah - I'm kidding myself - you should just bend over and whimper quietly - you're an Aussie.
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  14. #44
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Quote Originally Posted by rld View Post
    I use the HRC 216s here. Hydro trans are hard to beat. As for the height , I have never had a complaint, by the second cut people dont notice the difference. Recommend removing the stacked blades and switching to a oregon or razor mulching blade. For catching wet grass I use the older hrc single blade with a welded addition to the aerofoil. It will pack the catcher with soaking wet grass. The meg mo system can be modified to fit.
    Thanks for the advice. I'll have a play with blades with the 2nd mower I imported - sounds like you're a fellow/perfectionist with a good bit of experience.
    Are your HRC's are the Aussie steel deck jobs, or are they imported from the US ??
    I never looked at the Aussie HRC's because to me they were just a Hru with a steel deck for an extra $800 over the alloy deck HRU 3 speeds. To my memory the Aussie HRC's only ran a 3 speed, not a Hydrostatic drive, but I didn't look that hard because of the price tag.
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

  15. #45
    Senior Member Arfa Brayne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Honda HRX217HYA imported from USA - A better mower for less $$ than an Aussie HRU

    Just an update to let you know how the HRX is going.
    I modded the handle and controls to be like my other hondas with a guard to stop the throttle and gear lever being knocked/broken by shrubs and branches. Thanks to Ian I got a snorkle kit to help the filter stay cleaner longer too.

    We've had some pretty hot & dry conditions in Dec Jan so most of the mowing has been using the "mulch" setting simply because it mulches so well it makes you lazy.

    Feb has been a feast for growth conditions - wet, warm and humid. I've had lawns with 10 inches of growth and just mulched them to about 60mm high at the same speed as a HRU216 in top gear. If it's really wet the grass sticks up under the deck and then drops down in one clump to stall the motor in the thick stuff, but my HRU's do this too.

    The long grass and wet conditions have been good to test out the wet catching ability of the HRX.
    Last week I noticed it wasn't catching as well as the beginning of the month, so I checked out to see if I could find why. The lift on the flutes wasn't worn, but when I compared the blade with a new one I noticed the whole end of the blade had lost about 15 deg of twist/ramp. A bit of grunt in the vise with some stilsons put the twist back in the blade tips and it's back to packing the catcher full of wet grass up to about 5 inches of cut. Over 5 inches off the top of a lawn and it will begin to clog around the 2/3rds catcher mark. You also have to drive it at about the same speed as a HRU in 3rd gear for any more than about 3 inches of wet cut or it starts to mulch the grass a bit and make it sticky. For a normal 2 inches off the top wet lawn you just go flat out and it eats it like there's no tomorrow and packs the catcher tight and full even when it's raining.

    The independant height adjustment on all 4x wheels is still a bit weird, but by altering the front and rear axles to different heights you can do some tricky stuff.
    I know now why single height adjustment mowers are set with the front 20mm lower - it makes the mower cut easier in heavy grass, and if you are mulching heavy grass it sprays chunkier size clippings out the back.
    If you set front and back axles level it gives a mulch so fine it's hard to see, and set level and catching makes for a really even finish - almost like a cylinder mower. The finish to a good lawn is like chalk and cheese to a HRU.

    Fuel tank is only about 2/3 the size of the HRU, so refuel is every 4 lawns compared to every 6, and the auto choke operates if the mower has been switched off for more than 10 minutes, but it starts easy and every time so shouldn't whinge.

    Touch wood there hasn't been a single problem, but It's been only 10 weeks/600 lawns - give or take.
    "Can't" is a dirty 4 letter word.
    If someone says "Can't" , take the "T" off the end and brew it.
    Sip on a mugfull, relax, and take a look at what you've got left to work with.

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