Honda HR 215

scott47429 said:

oh ok i didnt know it had a charging coil

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You're right; it does NOT have a charging coil. This older model requires an external charger. I'll try and post the part number/cost tomorrow when I can get to the parts catalogs.

You remove a couple of screws to open the battery compartment, and there's a big two connector you unplug, then plug the battery side into the charger. Let it charge overnight. As I recall, the battery should last a few months between recharges.

Yep, and a whole bunch of other stuff you'd find on a car's ignition system too. In fact, I ordered a couple of parts from a Honda Motorcycle parts supplier for mine. The starter relay and it's cover were also used on the 1500cc Gold Wing, and maybe others. Mine has the charging coil, part #6 shown in the diagram. It's under the flywheel. My electric start HR214 has a charging coil also.

thanks robert i didnt think it did i have found the part number of the battery and the charger and can get them but im not sure im going to orser them cause im not real impressed with the controls there hard for me to get use to i think im going to sell it and buy a new HRR216VKA

scott47429 said:

thanks robert i didnt think it did i have found the part number of the battery and the charger and can get them but im not sure im going to orser them cause im not real impressed with the controls there hard for me to get use to i think im going to sell it and buy a new HRR216VKA

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HR215s are great mowers. It is not considered there commercial mower (that would be a hrc215) but it is bulit like a commercial mower in a lot of ways. Robert is right that these things are little tanks and can take a real ***** whippen. I have always liked them with the hydro trans and I always put the handlebar mounts on (it was an option and still available) and the deck guards also (still available). It really stiffens up the bars so there is NO flex or movement in them which makes it feel more solid. For what its worth I like these better then the john deere 14sb and jx 75. It is kinda close but the deeres just have a few flaws that the honda pretty much doesn't. I had at the time of new a 14sb, jx75 and jx85 and all 3 had transmission problems a few years down the road so I said thats it I am buying a honda and havent looked back since. Those were pretty good mowers but the hondas are just more refined and fit and finish is better for the same money when new.

Those handle braces are great additions to these mowers, especially the electric start versions with the extra weight of the battery and ignition parts that hang on the top of the lower handle section. They are well worth the investment for any HR214/HR215. I think I might add the deck guards someday too.

The John Deere had bearings where the power shaft to the rear wheels passed through that had grease fittings so you could keep them lubricated. That was one thing I wish Honda had fitted to the HR214/HR215.

i just sold my John Deere 14 SB saturday but im not going to keep the Honda either i dont like the way the controls work at all very hard to get use to and its so heavy so im going to go buy a new Honda HRR216VKA real soon the John Deere Dealer here has them on sell for 399.00 Home Depot is the only place i have found them for at that price and i hate big box stores but the ones at John Deere dont have the clip deflector the ones at Home Depot do so can anyone tell me is it really worth the 70 mile round trip to Home Depot for the one with the clip[ defector or should i just drive one street over here in town and get the one at John Deere

The deflector eliminates the need for a separate mulch plate, as I understand it. One less thing to have to keep on hand if you switch back and forth from bagging to mulching.

Couldn't your Honda/JD dealer order one with the deflector?

scott47429 said:

i just sold my John Deere 14 SB saturday but im not going to keep the Honda either i dont like the way the controls work at all very hard to get use to and its so heavy so im going to go buy a new Honda HRR216VKA real soon the John Deere Dealer here has them on sell for 399.00 Home Depot is the only place i have found them for at that price and i hate big box stores but the ones at John Deere dont have the clip deflector the ones at Home Depot do so can anyone tell me is it really worth the 70 mile round trip to Home Depot for the one with the clip[ defector or should i just drive one street over here in town and get the one at John Deere

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bwdbrn1 said:

The deflector eliminates the need for a separate mulch plate, as I understand it. One less thing to have to keep on hand if you switch back and forth from bagging to mulching.

Couldn't your Honda/JD dealer order one with the deflector?

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I would try to get one with the Clip Director if possible.

i can get the one with the clip deflector im going to educate the John Deere dealer today at lunch time and see if they have one and explain the difference in the numbers to them i just love it when the customer knows more about the product then the dealer lol lol lol lol im sure the have the 9 not just the 8 and if they dont have it theres another JD dealer and towns away i called yesterday that do have them

scott47429 said:

i just love it when the customer knows more about the product then the dealer lol lol lol lol

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Seems to be a lot of that going on. I stopped by one of the JD dealers here when they still had the snowblowers out and asked if the one they had on the floor was a different model than the one pictured in the brochure since the recoil start was mounted differently than the one in the picture. He didn't catch that they had mounted it incorrectly, even as I spoke to him about it. I mean come on! Honda even gave you guys a picture of the darn thing, and you couldn't put it together correctly, and I'm going to trust you with servicing it? Nah, I'll go to the Honda dealer up the road that's been selling them since the beginning of the Honda Outdoor Power Equipment's presence here in the U.S.

Nearby was one of John Deere's fancy expensive ATVs I honestly don't know anything about that part of their product line so I was curious, and when I asked about it the salesman proudly said it had a motorcycle engine made by some Italian company. However, not only could he not pronounce Piaggio, he'd never heard of them and the fact that they were the parent company of Vespa, Aprila and Moto Guzzi, among others. It was like I could have browsed their brochures for a few minutes and known more about what he was selling than he did!

It's almost like they figure if it's either green and yellow, or on their show room, people will just buy it. Hopefully Honda won't put up with that sort of product knowledge long. It's so contrary to their original vision in establishing their outdoor power equipment dealer network back in the day. I can't imagine that John Deere would expect that lack of product knowledge either, seeing how the international headquarters of John Deere is within 2 miles of this dealership, and the dealer's address is 1660 - John Deere Road! That's right! You could almost throw a rock from the back door of the dealership and break a window at John Deere's glass palace, as they call it.

I sure hope Honda makes sure that their product is well represented by this partnership with John Deere.