New home/land owner looking for guidance...

[newbieinCT]

Hi everyone,
I've been browsing the lawnworld forums ever since I found out we were no longer going to rent and we were going to join the land of homeowners. We moved in a little over a month ago... it's exciting, but overwhelming. We have about 2 acres of land, but only about 3/4 an acre that we need to mow, the rest is woods. Slight slope in one spot and a boulder or two to avoid, but overall, your basic lawn. We were fortunate enough to have my father in law's old old old Troy Built Tuff Cut from 1986 that we were able to use until it died. Well, after 1.5 mows, it died. The frame snapped. Maybe it's for the best, we looked pretty ridiculous mowing with it...but it worked, so we used it.

Anyway, it's a goner, so we are on a hunt for a good mower.

We keep coming back to the hondas - specifically the HRR216VYA and HRR216VLA. The biggest different we can find is the electric start on the VLA and the BBC on the VYA. We ruled out the HRX217VKA - thought it might be too much of a machine and there seemed to be better reviews for the other two.

Just wondering if you guys had an advice for our situation and which would be better, the VYA or VLA. We orignially wanted the electric start for convenience, then people say theirs starts up easy. Then we wanted the brake clutch, but then other people post that theirs broke. Any thoughts? We'd like to buy soon but are hesitant to pull the trigger - this is a big purchase right after moving into a new house. It's a bi overwhelming, so any and all advice is welcomed

Thanks,
Jen

 

[mowerman05]

No help with what your asking but welcome to the forum and I am sure someone will be along shortly to answer your question as there are a lot of honda fans on this forum:thumbsup:

 

[newbieinCT]

No help with what your asking but welcome to the forum and I am sure someone will be along shortly to answer your question as there are a lot of honda fans on this forum:thumbsup:

Thanks, mowerman

The forums and guides posted have given us so much information already -my head is spinning trying to sort it all out. Each night I come home and browse the forums, while the grass grows taller. We can't wait any longer. The reality is, no matter what mower we pick it will be better than that hideous from 30 years ago! I just am obsessing over the details since it's a big purchase.

Have a great night!

 

[exotion]

Thanks, mowerman

The forums and guides posted have given us so much information already -my head is spinning trying to sort it all out. Each night I come home and browse the forums, while the grass grows taller. We can't wait any longer. The reality is, no matter what mower we pick it will be better than that hideous from 30 years ago! I just am obsessing over the details since it's a big purchase.

Have a great night!

Really 3/4 acre mowing you can use any mower :/ the electric start is probably unnecessary, the blade brake is as well. Its nice to have but ehh... the only thing is how thick your grass is is how much power you might need I have the hrr with the 160cc engine and use it commercially in all sorts of situations and it works great.

If you get the hrx with 190cc engine you won't have any problems ever

 

[newbieinCT]

Really 3/4 acre mowing you can use any mower :/ the electric start is probably unnecessary, the blade brake is as well. Its nice to have but ehh... the only thing is how thick your grass is is how much power you might need I have the hrr with the 160cc engine and use it commercially in all sorts of situations and it works great.

If you get the hrx with 190cc engine you won't have any problems ever

Thanks! This is basically exactly what I needed to hear: "chill out, any mower will work" We have rented up until now, so other mowing my parent's lawn as a kid, that's all the mowing experience we have. It's easy to get wrapped up in it all. We do have a lot of trees and a couple rocks but it looks like all the Hondas are good with maneuvering. I think we are still going to go with the VYA b/c the brake clutch because the hubby is obsessed with it. Considering we are going to be mulching most of the time, I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling more confident about the decision to go with Honda. It's good to hear from people who know mowers, as opposed to salespeople. It's tough to weed through it all.

Thank you!!
jen

 

[robert@honda]

Either of the Honda models is a fine choice, and if you buy before May 31st (gulp, that's TODAY), there's an extra 1-year of warranty added on.

Both the electric start or BBC are great features if you expect to be bagging a lot and need to empty the bag frequently. When you do, the electric start makes it easy to start up the engine again, and the BBC means the engine never stops, you just re-engage the blades.

With any other models that don't have either of those features, you'll need to pull the starter cord each time you "let go" of the handlebar to empty the grass bag, move a branch/toy ,etc. so keep that in mind. Not that other Honda models are hard to start, of course.

 

[newbieinCT]

Either of the Honda models is a fine choice, and if you buy before May 31st (gulp, that's TODAY), there's an extra 1-year of warranty added on.

Both the electric start or BBC are great features if you expect to be bagging a lot and need to empty the bag frequently. When you do, the electric start makes it easy to start up the engine again, and the BBC means the engine never stops, you just re-engage the blades.

With any other models that don't have either of those features, you'll need to pull the starter cord each time you "let go" of the handlebar to empty the grass bag, move a branch/toy ,etc. so keep that in mind. Not that other Honda models are hard to start, of course.

Thank you! I got my butt in gear and I called a bunch of dealers and ordered the HRR honda w BBC yesterday. $479 at a lawn mower dealer/repairshop rather than the $500 in the orange big box store. I know it's only a few dollars, but I'd rather support a local business whenever I can. Plus, they walked me through the basics. Nothing I couldn't figure out on my own but it was a nice gesture. It came filled with gas and a oil too

Thanks for the advice. I know I probably obsessed more than I needed to, but I feel we made a great decision. Thanks for everyone's help (both on this thread and on all the others I read before getting the nerve to post).

Happy mowing
jen

 

[afoulk]

look forward to seeing pics of it once you get it and hearing how you like it:thumbsup: