Honda lawn mower (self propelled or riding) recommendation

Hello friends,

I hope you are doing well. I am looking to buy a lawn mower for my acreage property in Houston, TX.

I will be using a tractor to brush the larger areas, but I need a mower, either a self propelled mower, or a small riding mower.

I think the total area that needs to be maintained with this equipment will be about an 0.5-1 acre.

The land is mostly flat, but bumpy, and it has some small rocks, as it has not been cleaned thoroughly. It has grass, weeds and barren areas, i.e. brown spots.

The mower will be used by individuals of varying fitness, so the easier to the use better.

My budget is about a $1000, for either a commercial type walk behind, or maybe a bit more, if I can get a riding mower.

I believe Honda engine brands are the way to go, any thoughts on a model I should consider please?

Thank you!
Oxonian

Hello - I'd have to vote for the Honda HRX217HYA. About $750. Quadra cut system uses twin blades to really mulch up grass, can also adjust from bag, mulch or any combination of simply by sliding a lever on the deck. Hydrostatic drive, blade clutch, rust-free deck. I have a much older version, an HR194 from the '80s with a slightly smaller engine (GXV120 4.5hp) and that thing is amazing. Always starts on 1st or 2nd pull and the easy start recoil is so smooth, takes very little effort to pull it. The HRX has a GCV190 5.5hp I believe and really cuts through anything as I understand. Plenty of videos about it. That would be my recommendation for you.

I'd have to agree with snapperfreak. I have the mower that he talks about, the HRX217HYA. I've had this mower for about 3 years now and love it. My only complaint is that the fuel tank is a little on the small side. Other than that, no complaints. Easy to start, easy to use, durable, cuts great. Here's a picture of mine:



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Bonus: If you get a Honda, there's that Robert@Honda guy who hangs out here and is usually good about helping with Honda stuff :wink: :wink: :wink:

If nothing else he'll ship you some kewl stickers if you drop him a PM with street address... :smile: :smile: :smile:

Well sir, you are definitely right about Honda engines being the way to go. My previous mower lasted a dozen years and was still going when I replaced it with my new "Cadillac" - HRX217HYA. I'd recommend it for you as it's self-propelled with the best controls on it, the blade-brake mechanism means you can keep the motor running (but without the blade spinning) so you can go pick up rocks/trees/etc that are in the way - without the need to pull-start it again. The "Nexite" deck has a lifetime warranty - Honda even has a video of a car running over the deck without any problems.

I'd highly recommend the HRX217HYA which should be well within your budget (Mine was $729 from MowersDirect.com).

Respectfully

Jim in St. Louis

I love my hrx217hya that I got this year. I have about a half acre to mow. With that being said I also ended up buying a used simplicity riding mower to help cut down on time. I have tons of obstacles and I prefer to push mow the front yard so the Honda purchase was well justified in my head. Sometimes you just have to think, are you bringing a knife to a gunfight? I wish Honda still made riders or a 30 inch walk behind!

Nothing wrong with any Honda mower.
If you go down the ride on path, go for a rear engine rider.
They are great for small tight areas, can go almost anywhere push mower can.
Most important, because the deck is driven from the rear, when you strike an obstacle, it pushes the deck backwards, this take pressure off the drive belt thus allowing the belt to slip rather than the blade to bend or break.
An old Honda RER would be ideal, you just can't kill them.

honda always best for self propelled lawn mower

rash3d said:

honda always best for self propelled lawn mower

Click to expand...

I have to disagree a bit. About 7 years ago, I bought an HRX for $699 from the local dealership. I guess that same mower would be close to $1000 today. Mine had every feature except electric start. It had a Honda engine and I had heard all the hype about Honda mowers so I had to get one. I didn't spend extra for the electric start because everybody raved about how Hondas started on one pull so I thought why spend the money for the upgrade.

I used it weekly on 1/4 of an acre of flat ground and usually bagged, but occasionally mulched. I always cut the yard when the grass was dry and I only cut about an inch off the grass blade. In theory, a cheap $99 mower should have sufficed for the easy cut I put it through.

The mower was cleaned after each use and serviced by the dealer on schedule and I put new blades on annually.

My experience:

The mower took anywhere from 3-5 pulls to start which was ok, but not anything to brag about. More importantly, the cut quality was uneven and there were always "corn rows" of grass clippings on the ground even when I mulched. And, emptying the bag always left a pile of clippings at my feet which I had to manually pick up or disperse with my foot. If you Google this issue, you will see that both the HRX and HRR series of Hondas are well known for having uncut grass and/or a trail of clippings on the edge of the deck and many consumers report there machines are difficult to start as well. It also was next to impossible to pull the thing backwards and to use it at high throttle (rabbit) meant pretty much having to jog behind the mower.

It really was not "fun" to mow my yard with it and I came to dread the task primarily because of the issues with the HRX.

So, I am not impressed with Honda mowers. Of course, there are always people who swear by it, but there are also just as many who swear at it. Read the reviews on multiple sites.

Unfortunately, in fairness to Honda, virtually all residential mowers today are pretty much "junk" regardless of the brand or price and it's pretty much rolling the dice if you get a good one or a bad one. Too many quality control and design issues coupled with cheap materials to ensure a relatively short lifespan compared to yesteryear's mowers.

I'm convinced that only a commercial grade mower will be reliable and deliver a quality cut.

Just my opinion.

Can't read your post. It looks like it's in Vietnamese.