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Heh - yep. I remember that being fun too. You will have to take the blade and blade clutch off to get to it as I recall.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. They "more than 20 degrees". If you're AT 20 degrees you're well within their margins. I've never measured my yard, but pretty sure some parts of it are 20 degrees or more. The mower slides sideways on them... so it's not 5 degrees. I've had my mower since 2011...

It's been a while... but it's not FULL. Maybe a 1/4 - 1/2 inch from the top is about what I remember it being. The linked thread below says 2.2 ounces. I'll tell you get it mostly full of some type of slippery fluid and you probably will never have a problem with it. :-)...

The official oil is motor oil 10w-30. I've used automatic transmission fluid as well without any problems.

Does it go away when you engage the blade? If so probably the bearings on the clutch. Common issue and no big deal to replace if you have a vice.

Nice find! I was originally looking for ball bearings but didn’t find any that really fit so that’s how I ended up with the needle bearings. I’ll be curious how they work for you, I think sealed balls would be superior.

Im jealous. Must be nice having the proper engineering from the get go. :-P

Heh, thanks but I’ve had mine for a long time so it’s like one experiment per year. My wife seriously supports me getting a new commercial mower just so she can stop hearing about it though. :-) I really just think if we put our heads together we can figure out something great. Look at the...

Im not sure about the Honda, but the Stihl Kombi is compatible with the mtd big box store stuff. The Stihl dealer will tell you it isn’t but it is. This makes migrating from consumer grade to professional grade a lot easier especially for the stuff you only use occasionally. Also while I love my...

I haven't had any real issues with corrosion but blueing it does sound interesting. bertsmobile1 - Regarding maintenance - I've tried the following and never really made it through a season without it degrading significantly and early: 1) Cleaned adjusters and bushings, used bearing grease...

I agree the throttle is twitchy. I’ve gotten used to it but would be nice if it was smoother. Really odd the difference in starting though. Mine has always been super easy hot or cold engine and freezing or middle of the summer. It starts like my Honda mower - 1 pull. My bg86 is 3 pulls...

Bizarre- I’ve never seen that and lord knows my mower has seen some serious hills and stress put on it. I have to wear baseball cleats to mow my yard. I really think something was off in the machining of your deck or something crazy like that. It’s a shame Honda didn’t step up and just replace...

Odd, mine starts first pull every time. Prime it 5 times, skip the choke, set the throttle to start and it comes to life instantly every time. I still don’t know why it even has a choke - it just makes it harder to start.

Maybe an admin can sticky this thread and we can rename it?

Good suggestion - I cheated and used my old transmission. ;-)

Have you read the thread? Some good ideas including sealing up the system better to prevent it from getting gummed up and moving from plastic bushings to needle bearings. I can tell you the bearing conversion is working MUCH better for me than the Honda setup.

It almost sounds like you had a manufacturing flaw where the deck was manufactured incorrectly. I've not known them to just "fall apart" to where you can't complete the mow. Having issues pulling the mower backwards is a real design flaw, but doesn't prevent it from being used. The only thing...

I did the same thing and had seen mine pop off before as well.

Im not sure I could live with the personal pace deal. That looks like it’d be weird to me. I’m really glad you and others have found this thread helpful. I’m hoping it becomes the place where we truly solve this design flaw. I love your idea with felt and glad you shared it. I also love the...

Yep, I’m with you. I’ve replaced the stupid adjusters more times than I care to admit. Youre right that the shaft is only sold with the trans. My problem is there aren’t many mowers I like better no matter what the price is - The new HRN looks decent but good chance I’d just go commercial if I...

Oh man that is WAY prettier than my handheld drill! I love the press fit. Mine wasn’t perfect enough to avoid epoxy. I swear you’ll have the best setup yet. Felt + extra dust seal + bearings. I’m jealous. I bet it’ll last a really long time like that and is what Honda should have given us to...

Yeah, that is a risk, but it for sure already happens with the bushings. That’s why I replaced my transmission previously. It wears down significantly where the bushings and grit come together. I’ve been looking at the deck side of mine and with a newer shaft and so far I’m not seeing any...

Consider adding an extra dust seal or felt to keep dirt out if you’re messing with the bushings. Also the bushings maybe fine until they warm up, then they start to stick and you can’t pull it backwards. Anything related to not being able to pull it backwards start with the bushings first...

I have a worst case scenario yard for mine and have been working on ways to actually fix it. So far so good, but this thread below has a lot of good info and solutions presented to help hopefully permanently fix this design flaw from Honda...

I dunno... I‘ve got a KM130R that I’ve had for 6 years or so and its heavy enough, but looks like it weighs less than the Honda models and I’d bet the Stihl has more power too. Not saying the Honda is bad just the Stihl 4 mix is pretty great in my experience- starts first pull, doesnt stink...

I’d probably leave it alone and then switch to bearings if it ever acts up again. You’re right that Honda should be ashamed of this setup. It’s truly flawed and you know some engineer was begging management to spend $2 extra per mower to do it right. Everything else about these mowers is solid...

Ah, very nice! I just grabbed what I could find easily. I wish I had a machine shop, it’s for sure better than a drill and a vice. I’m in the Atlanta area and you maybe right about ATF being the wrong choice. My first transmission on the stock oil had two chipped gears. I flushed it way back...

I remembered tonight that I had a scale for weighing bags for aviation. Very similar to a fish scale but mine is digital and was a bit harder to read for something like this, but on flat concrete my breakaway is right around 7 - 8lbs as well. It was harder to tell the once moving number but...

Probably just need to tear the clutch apart and see if you can find anything wrong. It’s not too complicated but you will need an impact to get it off without being able to hold the crank.

Im not sure, but I suspect not easily. The hrn uses a single height adjustment per axle which seems to significantly change the mounting style of the wheels and drive axle. https://peparts.honda.com/powerequipment#/browse/lm/hrn/hrn216/HRN216-VYA It seems like the big difference is moving the...

Unfortunately I don’t have one. It’s pretty light though. Only slightly more drag than when pushing forward. It’ll actually roll down hills backwards on grass. I’ve cleaned and replaced the bushings enough times, I do feel it’s a bit less drag than the bushings when perfect. Sorry, not a...

Check that the spring that returns the transmission back to a “loose” belt tension is there and working. Make sure the belt isn’t jammed on the pulley or something like that. After you checked the above, you’ll probably find it’s the bushings as previously mentioned. They’re a massive design...

Great idea! I do wonder how much dust gets by between the wheel and dust cover too. Id be tempted to try it there too. I will say, I kinda feel like the bearings are an upgrade as the mower feels 10lbs lighter. Your idea is great though and worth trying first for sure.

Awesome! Glad it’s working for you just like it is for me. Haven’t touched mine since October and it still “leaps” compared to stock.

Consider cleaning the snap ring grooves and replacing the snap rings on the adjuster as well.

If I had a drill press I would have used one. Instead I was just very careful and used a regular drill and bench vice. A drill press would be much better.

Probably. The design is fundamentally flawed, not just a bad production run. Checkout my thread on converting to bearings. They’re still working great and much better than even the bushings are new. Otherwise if you want to stay with the bushings I’d buy new and an extra set of dust seals, use...

I had the worst results with dry lube. If you want to try something but don’t want to convert to bearings, you may consider adding a dust seal to the wheel side and then using grease with the plastic bushings. I wouldn't grind or sand the axle since that could make the dust seal less effective...

Well... not a whole lot of options. I'd pull the whole tank / top shroud off to inspect better. Should be only a few bolts. The tank itself or a line maybe cracked.

They seem fine to me minus the in-excusable design flaw most have that cause a ton of drag pulling backwards. Mine is 9 years old with just me and entirely home owner use. I've replaced the smart drive cable, the transmission (trying to fix pulling backwards as the shaft was worn), a few sets of...

Sure - I used 4 of these bearing. 2 in each side: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E42RWPQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Quick update - bearings still working perfectly.

You may have carb issues. 4-6 pulls isn normal. The good news is the carbs on these should be pretty cheap if you just want to buy a new one... like 25bux or something. You can try cleaning it well. The resistance pulling backwards is a design flaw unfortunately. Don’t believe the YouTube...

Good luck, the dry lube didn’t do so well for me. Graphite powder was MUCH better than Teflon spray. Teflon spray was really bad. So far the bearing conversion is still doing awesome on mine. Zero maintenance and better than new. Only about 10 mows so far, but before it was going down hill by 3...

Thank you! I’m really hoping my bearing conversion keeps working... if not the HRN is on the shortlist.

Great information! Who knows why Honda does this stuff sometimes. I just hope they really fixed the issues with pulling it backwards.

The hrx uses a different part that’s better designed. Not really relevant to this thread, but glad you love your mower. I love mine with the bearing conversion! Still doing great!

The HRN looks like a completely new design from looking at the parts diagram with one of the stated improvements being "easier to pull backwards". As to if it's truly solved - I don't think anyone KNOWS for sure yet. My suspicion is that they've fixed it and I'd personally consider buying one.

Awesome! I look forward to hearing how it works for you. It’d be great if there was a way to upgrade it without having to drill to accept the needle bearings. Amazing how much better they mow when this i working properly. I suspect only 5-10% of them actually work right. Even in the store most...

I believe it’s just 5w-30 or 10w-30. Personally I put ATF in there which works fine too. You just fill it up about 1cm below the top while it’s upside down and just bolt the cover back on.