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Thread: What we want from honda.

  1. #1
    Member Andy B's Avatar
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    Post What we want from honda.

    Hi all,

    I was just reading the other thread just started in this section today and I figure something good/great we could do is tell them what we want, that way they can do up some sort of spread sheet and please more of us, more easily.

    I'll start, I work 20min from capital city, mostly blocks from 400sqm to 1000spm, I basically need 2 mowers for what I do as just one will never cut it. (excuse the pun)

    1st mower: needs to be light!!!!19 inch or smaller? and would love it to be less than 30kg I find lifting the mower up embankments or down steps a bit of a strain, needs to mulch and catch but most importantly needs to be light, I really don't care if it's got a blade brake or half a chute cause they don't bother me. Prefer a snorkel and a plastic catcher but material one is fine. I'm okay with open ending as opposed to a side throw cause this mower is mainly used in small residential areas where clippings are either caught or mulched.

    2nd mower: needs to be self propelled, needs to be at least 21inch, needs to be unbreakable, needs to mulch and catch. Snorkel and material bag are fine and side throw would be a nice option for larger blocks for that ride on sort of finish but I'm okay with the way the current 216m2 rear flap directs the clippings down to the ground as opposed to into the shins.

    I'm clearly a little rough on my machines and the plastic plugs on the height adjusters and the front axle get worn out, once even loosing one corner of the height adjuster and dropping the spinning blades down to ground on a patch of lawn.

    Hope that helps.

  2. #2
    Senior Member GardenGuy's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    19"? Grab a Victa Razor deck, if you can find one of that vintage. They were mostly domestic, so a good deck shouldn't be hard to find. Strap a 500 series B&S on it and you have a 28 kg, 19" alloy, 4 blade, mulch and catch rig that you can carry almost anywhere. You could mount a larger donk on it if you would like more torque. Cheap as, and it has padded ergonomic handles too... Oooh-err! Just be sure of the blades... there is some real rubbish out there lately (e.g. cutting face is down, not up, so messes with the mulching and catching physics and cut heights). You can even find hard catchers on the kerb at council clean-ups.

    21" SP? I think somebody else had better speak up on this point. I'm still in disgrace for having chosen to trial a particular machine that is not well proven...

    Cheers - GardenGuy.
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  3. #3
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    Andy this is why i use the older 197's 31.8kg and i fit a Victa Honda snorkel to them, the current 197's are 36kg and the current 196's are a whopping 44 kg

    Honda weights
    http://www.indmowing.com.au/forum/sh...=mower+weights
    Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
    And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you

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    Translawner administrator's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    Agree Ian Hru before the mow safe range are alot better .I did suggest to Ray at Honda just bring back the hru196d and the hru216d for contractors .They assemble them here in Victoria so shouldnt be a problem .

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    Member courty's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    This place was a week overdue due to the weather we have had,now I wouldn't call this to bad but do expect a $1400.00 contractor machine to be able to handle it.Power wise it was ok but having to stop and clear the chute after every one and half runs when the catcher was nowhere near full is so annoying.
    "I'm not alone cause the tv's on yeah,I'm not crazy cause I take the right pills.... everyday" Jimmy Eat World

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    Senior Member GardenGuy's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    If the catcher is >65% full and the cut material has a high water content, both the Honda originals and the clones are useless. The chute will plug up.

    Maybe the fix is known, but I'll be cynical and suggest that it might be kept back so that the supplier can do an "Apple" and sell incremental improvements each season or so, at a new and higher price point. Either that or the machinery suppliers are clueless for a solution.

    Cheers - GardenGuy.
    My Garden Guy - www.mygardenguy.com.au. Visit us at Facebook too! Visit our Blog for seasonal updates and hints about what your garden needs now.
    Servicing Sydney's North Shore from Chatswood to Cowan. Lawn mowing, gardening services, clean-ups and more.

    If you need lawn mowing and garden services, you need an ILMCOA member. Check the directory for someone local to you.

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    Senior Member bb1's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    Quote Originally Posted by GardenGuy View Post
    If the catcher is >65% full and the cut material has a high water content, both the Honda originals and the clones are useless. The chute will plug up.

    Maybe the fix is known, but I'll be cynical and suggest that it might be kept back so that the supplier can do an "Apple" and sell incremental improvements each season or so, at a new and higher price point. Either that or the machinery suppliers are clueless for a solution.

    Cheers - GardenGuy.
    The old style 196 would always fill the catcher when the grass was wet, the new one with the half chute just blocks the chute and wont fill. Honda's solution to me was double mow the lawn, they have no concept that double mowing is double time, the client is not going to be happy having to pay more for the same job. Honda just have no concept of contractor mowing.

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    Senior Member PaulG's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    Glenn are you going through that in 1st gear? Similar result to what I'm getting here at teh moment.

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    Member courty's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    Yeah mate 1st gear only,that and clearing the chute is bloody time consuming.
    "I'm not alone cause the tv's on yeah,I'm not crazy cause I take the right pills.... everyday" Jimmy Eat World

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  10. #10

    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    Quote Originally Posted by administrator View Post
    Agree Ian Hru before the mow safe range are alot better .I did suggest to Ray at Honda just bring back the hru196d and the hru216d for contractors .They assemble them here in Victoria so shouldnt be a problem .
    Why not just go with the 195's and 215's with a little more grunt but no more weight. I'm still good with these for the next 10 years or so because I did not like what I was seeing with the newer machines.

  11. #11
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    Quote Originally Posted by bb1 View Post
    The old style 196 would always fill the catcher when the grass was wet, the new one with the half chute just blocks the chute and wont fill. Honda's solution to me was double mow the lawn, they have no concept that double mowing is double time, the client is not going to be happy having to pay more for the same job. Honda just have no concept of contractor mowing.
    no concept and it would appear don't care
    As I've said before i find it amazing that the main complaint from contractors regarding the 216 is and has been for a long time the small width rear chute so how could Honda consult mowing contractors then come out with a new design for their 19" mowers which changed them from a full width to a small width chute the only way i can see this happening is if they just ignored them and did what they felt like
    Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
    And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you

  12. #12
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    lets look at the old and the new 'improved' 196
    the old one had a full width chute
    the new one has a small chute
    the old one weighted 35kg
    the new one weights 44kg

    just what every contractor wants a push mower with a small chute that weighs 9kg (25%) more
    i took one look at the current model 197 when they released them and went and brought 2 of the older style
    Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
    And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you

  13. #13
    Senior Member bb1's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    The attitude from honda to contractors isnt just with the product, their dealer network dont seem to care anymore either. When I purchased the new 196, found a few days later it was pi ss ing fuel everywhere, took it back in, and they wanted to put it in the queue, come back in 3weeks time thanks. No I said, I just bought it a couple of days ago i want it fixed now, took some discussion, but 10 minutes later I had my mower back. Back a few years ago they would have just rolled it out the back and fixed it, no questions asked, not me have to argue to get it done straight away

  14. #14
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    i think you just have a s**t dealer i never have a problem with mike at mt waverley
    Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
    And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you

  15. #15
    Senior Member Mrs HMS's Avatar
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    Default Re: What we want from honda.

    They make far more out of their retails sales, they can spend less on the product and charge much more for it, plus it tends to not break down within the warranty period.
    That's why they don't care. Pure economics unfortunately
    ~ Joanne ~

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