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I am very interested in purchasing a Honda HRX217 mower. The only issue I have is it has Honda's Select Drive. I already own a Honda HRR216 and am fond of the Honda Smart Drive system. I rather have the Smart Drive from the Honda HRN217 on the Honda HRX217 than the Select Drive the HRX217 now comes with. After looking at the Select Drive mechanism a while I am wondering if you could cut off the downward wingtips tips of the V shaped Select Drive engagement lever (GRIP, CLUTCH (UPPER)) , turn the speed control all the way up, and basically end up with basically a smart drive system. Is this an crazy idea or am I on to something? Also, after looking at the parts diagrams of the HRX217 and the HRR216 it appears it may be possible to just swap out the parts as the top end of the connecting cable looks to be the exact same. Fellows, please let me know what you think.

Why are you interested in the HRX217? Maybe it's not worth the trouble

I have been looking at the Toro Super Recycler 21382 with the Honda engine also but leaning towards the Honda HRX217 more so. Back story. I purchased a Toro Recycler with a B&S engine and it lasted about 7 years then I purchased another Toro Recycler which lasted 2 years until the Tecumseh engine gave out. In 2006 I purchased another Toro Recycler. In 2008 after Hurricane Gustav I cleaned up my yard and was left with clumps of leaves so I was going to use my mower to finish cleaning up the yard. Made it about 20 feet before the drive system locked up. It appeared the transmission was locked up. Tired after three days of cleaning up after the hurricane and still a large tree to remove, I went to the local HD to buy another Toro Recycler with the thought in mind my other one if not fixable without great expense would become a parts hound for the new one. At HD I told the worker the problems I was having with Toro mowers. He stopped and insisted I try the Honda HRR216 and offered $50 off. I struggled with the decision but ended up with the Honda. The Honda worked like a champ cleaning up my yard. A couple of weeks later I fixed the Toro which ended up the drive belt being off the pulley and jamming the drive system. The issue was hidden under the belt guard and fixing it was a bit of an song and dance due to the way the mower was constructed. From that point on I have cut my yard for the last 12 years alternating between the Honda and the Toro cutting the grass about 40 times a year. When you live in the humid South near the coast your grass will usually get cut during the winter months. Over those 12 years my Toro Recycler has has the rear wheels($45) with the plastic gears replaced three times, pull cord replaced, pull spring replaced, engine stop cable replaced, replaced the bag, and drive belt replaced. For the last four years the Toro requires a routine to start it. You pull back on the engine stop level 40-60 times to wear off the corrosion on the contacts and bounce the front wheels once to unstick the governor. The engine stop contacts have been cleaned and greased which did not last long and you have to remove two engine covers to get to it. (11/06/20) I noticed the Toro has a rust hole in the deck. I will say it took two years longer for the Toro to have a hole in the deck. I live in a high humidity area with a good bit of rain. In the meantime the Honda HRR216 has worked without any repairs until this year. The deck on the Honda developed a couple of quarter inch holes about six inches in front of the engine. I buffed off the paint around the holes on both sides and used JB Weld to patch the deck. (12/26/20) I noticed my Honda HRR216 has 5 more small holes on either side of where I repaired the original holes with JB Weld. The deck is rusting thru in a semi circle on the front part of the deck where the last couple of inches of the blade rotates underneath the deck. I use my mowers at the lowest setting and the Honda has always pulled much better and suck up the grass way better than the Toro. Both the my Toro and Honda have had at times the wheels lock up when pulling the mower backwards. The Toro did it a little more and both now only do it occasionally.

My Opinion Only Honda HRX217VKA vs Honda HRN216VKA vs Toro Super Recycler 21382 (updated 12/26/20)

1. Engine - Honda stronger 200cc new design larger engine vs Honda 170cc 10% stronger new design engine vs Toro older Honda design 160cc engine - 1-HRX217, 2-HRN216, 3-Toro SR

2. Deck Material - Plastic$$ vs Steel$ vs Aluminum$$ - Aluminum will eventually corrode, the plastic will stain from gas spillage, not sure which is stronger or better, steel rusts - 1-2-Tied-HRX217 & Toro SR, 3-HRN216

3. Double blade vs single blade vs single blade - Honda chops better, Toro blades from experience require more sharpening - Tied-HRX217 & HRN216, 3 -Toro SR

4. Select Drive vs Smart Drive vs Personal Pace - Set/adjustable Select Drive, adjustable Smart Drive, Personal Pace, the harder you push the faster it goes - 1-HRN216, 2&3-tied-HRX217 & Toro SR

5. Drive train system reliability personal experience - had better luck with Honda since the belt has jumped off the rear pully twice on the Toro - 1&2-tied-HRX217 & HRN216, 3-Toro SR

6. Bagging - Honda handles wet grass better, sucks up the grass better, and holds more grass than Toro - 1&2-tied-HRX217 & HRN216, 3-Toro SR

7. Wheels - Independent wheel adjustment vs two wheels at a time - Do not feel the two system will be as level - 1&2-tied-HRX217 & Toro SR, 3-HRN216

8. Wheel size - 9" vs 8" vs 8" - prefer 9" -1-HRX217, 1&3-tied Toro SR &HRN216

9. Wheel bearings - All wheels vs back-bearing & front sleeve vs sleeve only - 1-HRX217, 2-HRN216, 3-Toro SR

10. Axle - Sleeve with dust shield vs sleeve with dust shield vs bearings with grease nipples - 1-Toro SR, 2&3-tied-HRX217 & Hrn216

11. Warranty - 5 year vs 3 year vs 5 years - 1&2-tied-HRX217 & Toro SR, 3-HRN216

12. Discharge - Rear vs Rear vs Side - 1&2-tied-HRX217 & HRN216, 3-Toro SR

13. Price - $620 vs $410 vs $600 - Difference mostly about deck material for me - 1-HRN216, 2-Toro SR, 3-HRX217 - $200 less for HRN216 goes a long ways paying for maintenance & repairs

14. Cut closeness to front and sides - HRX217 front wheels out further and sides a tad wider - 1&2-tied-HRN216 & Toro SR, 3-HRX217

15. Bag installation - Honda bag ears face inward and mower slots clog with grass, Toro bag ears face outward with no clogging of slots but in the way for dumping into garbage bags - 1-Toro SR, 2&3-tied-HRX217 & HRN216

16. Bag endurance - Longer life vs longer life still fine vs shorter life 9 years - 1&2-tied-HRX217&HRN216, 3-Toro

17. Mulching - lever variable mulch/bag vs lever mulch/bag vs plug(side wing for side discharge) - 1-Toro SR, 2-HRX217, 3-HRN216 (Ranking is based upon several video reviews between Honda and Super Recycler)

18. Weight - 89 vs 79 vs 85 pounds - All within 10 pounds, not a big consideration since I will not be transporting the mower - 1-HRN216, 2-Toro SR, 3-HRX217

19. Adding Fuel - Wide opening vs wide opening vs smaller opening and vent tube slowing down fueling - 1&2-tied-HRX217 & HRN216, 3-Toro

20. Repair Record - Personal experience of 12 year comparing Honda HRR216 to Toro Personal Pace - 1-Honda, 2-Toro (Toro had numerous repairs whereas Honda only one)

I have relied heavily upon my personal side by side 12 year experience between a Honda HRR216 and a Toro Recycler, humid climate, 45-60 minute grass cutting, almost always bag, cut at the lowest setting, maintenance of fuel/oil/filter/parts only, and extensive search of internet information and reviews. Probably missing quite a few points and would welcome any comments good or bad to help me decide. Thanks to gotomow for helping me get my facts straight!
The Honda HRN216 information was provided as a reference only and the tally currently is:
Wins - Honda HRX217VKA 10 wins vs Toro Super Recycler 21382 6 wins
Ties 4 - HondaHRX217vsToro 21382

I may have discovered the solution for my issue with Honda Select Drive. I always interpreted the way Select Drive worked was to set the speed and when engaged that is what you got. No more, no less. From the Honda manual it appears there is some leeway in the set speed of a little above and below which may be all I really need. They say you can push the Select Drive control a little further into the mower handle for extra torque which relates to extra speed on a flat surface and reduce the ground speed by partially releasing the Select Drive control. This may be enough of a controllable variance in speed for me. If I end up pulling the plug on a HRX217 with Select Drive I may toy later with the idea of cutting off the downward ears of the Select Drive control lever.

I use to love the Toro Personal Pace system but after 12 years of side by side of comparison to the Honda Smart Drive I like the Smart Drive system better. For the Toro Personal Pace system to work you actually have to provide a small amount of pushing pressure and increase it for increased speed so you are actually helping to push the mower. I have always noticed this old man(me) was less tired after cutting the same centipede yard for 12 years with the Honda HRR216 than the Toro Personal Pace Recycler. When the humidity is 70-80% and the weather guy says it feels like somewhere over 100 F it makes a real difference how hard your mower works you.

The SuperRecycler has real grease-able bearings on all 4 corners making it more robust and easier to move than my HRX217. I fitted the blue traction handle that is on the AWD and Timemaster so I can switch between personal pace and hand control operation. If Honda ever offers a mower that eliminates the plastic bushings on their drive train maybe
I'll take a look at it. I appreciate your answer and enjoy your new Honda!

.

gotomow said:

The SuperRecycler has real grease-able bearings on all 4 corners making it more robust and easier to move than my HRX217. I fitted the blue traction handle that is on the AWD and Timemaster so I can switch between personal pace and hand control operation. If Honda ever offers a mower that eliminates the plastic bushings on their drive train maybe
I'll take a look at it. I appreciate your answer and enjoy your new Honda!

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Thanks for letting me know about the grease nipples on the wheels. That is a real plus! The Toro drawings appear to show only sleeves for the wheels so it looked like the wheels did not have ball bearings. For the Honda where are the plastic bushings? I have never seen any on the Honda I have now but also have not really looked for them. I have taken a rear wheel off my Honda. I'm still trying to figure out which one I want and your input has been very helpful.

The drive shaft on both the front and rear is supported with ball bearings on the Toro. On the Honda the drive shaft is supported with plastic bushings. The stub axles off the adjuster on the Honda run to the wheels which do have bearings.
IMHO a lot of the Honda's extra cc's enable it to overcome the extra friction that occurs with the bushings.
However if you are happy with the Honda, great. It's definitely good to go with that.

gotomow said:

The drive shaft on both the front and rear is supported with ball bearings on the Toro. On the Honda the drive shaft is supported with plastic bushings. The stub axles off the adjuster on the Honda run to the wheels which do have bearings.
IMHO a lot of the Honda's extra cc's enable it to overcome the extra friction that occurs with the bushings.
However if you are happy with the Honda, great. It's definitely good to go with that.

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gotomow, Thanks bunches for your replies. You are slowly turning me back towards the Super Recycler with a Honda engine. So if I understand what you said correctly, the Toro Super Recycler should have bearings on all wheels and the rear drive shaft. whereas the Honda HRX217 has bearings on all wheels but uses a plastic sleeve for the drive shaft as it passes thru the mower deck. I will change the oil, grease the wheels, sharpen the blade, change the air filter, and only use real gas with fuel stabilizer added. What I will not do is clean the mower. Where I live there will be wet grass stuck to the underside of the the mower deck. Will this cause an aluminum deck to corrode? The steel deck on my 14 year old Toro is holding up better than my 12 year old Honda that this year had rust holes. FYI, the Honda HRN216 is not in the running because of the steel deck and the paired wheel adjustments is much easier to have the far side off in height from bouncing on rough terrain.

i keep updating my list to reflect what you have said.

I have updated my pros and cons list and ranking due to additional information I have received. I am still leaning towards the Honda HRX217 instead of the Toro 21382 Super Recycler. I normally(Honda better) bag and rarely mulch(Toro better). Aluminum will eventually corrode if grass is left stuck to the deck and I only do preventative maintenance on the motor. I think I like the Honda drive system better, The Honda engine on the Honda is more powerful than the Honda engine on the Toro,.

I think you're going to like the HRX. My issues with mine were that it was very hard to pull back on when trimming. But if you didn't have that trouble with your HRR, then you should be fine. The Honda is more susceptible in dusty conditions which sounds like you don't have. The other reason my HRX was aggravating me was it was very hard to restart when the engine was warm in cold weather. When it came time for leaf pickup here in michigan its often cold.
Be aware that changing the belt on the HRX is an involved process and not at all like the HRR. Give yourself more than a few minutes.

gotomow said:

I think you're going to like the HRX. My issues with mine were that it was very hard to pull back on when trimming. But if you didn't have that trouble with your HRR, then you should be fine. The Honda is more susceptible in dusty conditions which sounds like you don't have. The other reason my HRX was aggravating me was it was very hard to restart when the engine was warm in cold weather. When it came time for leaf pickup here in michigan its often cold.
Be aware that changing the belt on the HRX is an involved process and not at all like the HRR. Give yourself more than a few minutes.

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Thanks, I'll still be researching a little more while waiting to see if a HRX end of the year deal becomes available. My old mowers will end up going to a local men's drug rehab center that cuts grass for support. My Toro has given me more trouble with the wheels locking up when backing up than the Honda but neither was than bad and I never had a problem when restarting either mowers during our mild winters. I have a neighbor that cuts his grass every Saturday like clockwork. 2-3 years ago it snowed here and that neighbor was cutting his grass with snow covering half of his yard and bagging it too?!?!?!. Out of the last 40 years it has only snowed here 4-5 times unlike other places I have lived. The land here is almost all fine black silt. Rock hard when dry and mushy as pudding when wet. The land was created over thousands of years by sedimentation from flood waters. When my yard is soaking wet my mower tires will sink in the dirt(silt) along my fence bottoming out the mowers to the deck so cutting the a strip next to about 300' of fence is tough 5-6 times a year adding another 15 minutes and a workout for those cuttings. I also use my mower in the winter to chop up leaves but also to bag pine straw for mulch to put around trees. Bagging pine straw with your mower is a heck lot easier than raking.

oillogger said:

I am very interested in purchasing a Honda HRX217 mower. The only issue I have is it has Honda's Select Drive. I already own a Honda HRR216 and am fond of the Honda Smart Drive system. I rather have the Smart Drive from the Honda HRN217 on the Honda HRX217 than the Select Drive the HRX217 now comes with. After looking at the Select Drive mechanism a while I am wondering if you could cut off the downward wingtips tips of the V shaped Select Drive engagement lever (GRIP, CLUTCH (UPPER)) , turn the speed control all the way up, and basically end up with basically a smart drive system. Is this an crazy idea or am I on to something? Also, after looking at the parts diagrams of the HRX217 and the HRR216 it appears it may be possible to just swap out the parts as the top end of the connecting cable looks to be the exact same. Fellows, please let me know what you think.

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I have been looking at swapping out the Smart Drive controls on my old mower to replace the Select Drive controls on a HRX217 which may be my next purchase. I finally noticed the obvious. Duh! Honda Select Drive pivots from the bottom and Honda Smart Drive pivots from the top. Too bad or it would have been doable to replace the Select Drive with Smart Drive controls.

My Honda HRR216 deck is developing more holes on top around where the last three inches of the blades spin. Every time I use the mower I believe another small hole appears so the steel deck is rotting away over a large area and a new deck is outrageously over $300. Replacement steel decks for the newer Honda mowers are far cheaper. Today I will finally order a new Honda HRX217YKA. My fingers are crossed I will for the most part love the new mower for 10+ years. After that this old fart will pay to get my lawn cut. In 2-3 months I will provide an update of the pros and cons after a few times at bat. The first time I use the new Honda HRX217 will probably be next week to cut a 40'x40' area under a pine tree to pick up the pine straw to use as mulch. I will probably start cutting my lawn late February when I really get to see how the mower performs.

Yesterday I used the Lowe's Chat window to check on my Honda HRX217VKA mower order as it never showed any status change since ordering 4days before. The computer chat said my mower had been delivered two days prior. I finally got a real person chat and they stated it would take 5-7 business days for delivery when the website had stated 1-4 business days. The person also stated the charge on my credit card was only pending when my credit card website clearly stated it was processed. About one hour after the live chat ended I had a well known brand delivery truck show up with the mower. Today Lowe's website still shows my order as only being placed. I'm not saying in any way to avoid purchasing from Lowe's but to be aware you may get worthless information on order status.

Yesterday, all was fine with the box and packing. Setup went was quick and easy. Cranking for the first time took four pulls and I ran the motor for 3-4 minutes. 5 minutes later the mower cranked with 1 pull. Today I cut a 40'x40' area under a pine tree to pick up pine straw. Took 3 pulls to start the mower today and only picked up half a bag of pine straw since this was the third time I had picked up pine straw. As expected from reading about other folks experience the mower only needed the lower speed setting. Later on it will slow down as the belt will slip a little more once polished on the pulleys from slippage and the drive cable and belt stretches out as they both break in. The plastic engine cowling and the Nexite deck are dust magnets from the static electricity. Other people complained the rear wheels height was hard to adjust but I did not find that to be the case. The Honda Select Drive ended up not being an issue at all for me since I was able to vary the speed the same way as I did with the Honda Smart Drive on my 12 year old Honda HRR216. My only concern currently is if the Honda GCV200 engine with more usage will continue to require multiple pulls to start when the GCV160 on my old mower starts on one pull about 49 out of 50 times. I'll post again with an update after my new HRX217 had a few actual times at bat cutting my lawn.

Good luck with your new mower!

Scrubcadet10 said:

Good luck with your new mower!

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Thanks!

The weather here has been crazy as it was in the rest of the nation. It has been either too wet or too cold to cut the few winter weeds in my yard. During this time I did some testing with starting my new Honda HRX217YKA mower. I am retired so I have the time and with a engineering degree the desire to experiment. On warmer days of 60F and above it would take 3-4 pulls to start the mower. The colder days took more pulls until the coldest day where I discovered a method that helped. One cold day it was about 25F and I had been attempting for a while to get the mower to start without success. I noticed that when I paused a minute or two between pulls the motor would weakly try to start on only the first pull after the short wait. Finally I waited about 5-7 minutes. It started on the first pull after the longer wait. A few days later the temperature was around 38F. I did two pulls and then waited 2-3 minutes. The mower started on the first pull after the wait. I know the first two pulls puts fuel into the cylinder. I am assuming the longer wait between pulls allowed the fuel to become vaporized better and is why the mower starts on the first pull after the wait. When the mower starts a small amount of black smoke is released at first indicating a initially rich mixture. If someone knows better or has another possible explanation I would love to hear it. I remember reading a limited number of reviews where they stated the mower would never start on the first pull and one person stating it always took 4 pulls to start. The next few times I try to start my new mower I'll do the first pull and wait a short while before trying the second pull. I bet the warmer the day the less wait time is required. There is usually something else I can do for 1-4 minutes before the second pull. Tomorrow I may be able to cut my winter weeds since it has not rained in the last 3 days and the temperature will be in the 60's.

For a hydrocarbon to go from liquid to a gas requires energy to be adsorbed.
Th rate of thermal transfer is proportional to the difference in the temperatures .
Thus the heat transfer rate is slower on colder days so it takes longer for the vapourised droplets to become gasses in colder weather

bertsmobile1 said:

For a hydrocarbon to go from liquid to a gas requires energy to be adsorbed.
Th rate of thermal transfer is proportional to the difference in the temperatures .
Thus the heat transfer rate is slower on colder days so it takes longer for the vapourised droplets to become gasses in colder weather

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That is the physics class information you where learn about the characteristics of the transition of a material between the three physical states. Thermodynamics courses takes a deeper dive. My question is exactly what basic action is occurring during the longer wait times between engine pulls to enable the mower to start on the next pull. I am guessing/assuming there is some liquid fuel in the cylinder is that is transitioning to vapor which would ignite easier and of course that transition process would speed up as the temperature increases. I also questioned if the auto choke is not increasing the fuel to air ratio enough for starting which would help support my liquid fuel vaporization assumption. There may be some other bluntly correct action going on I have not considered. Regardless, thanks for your reply.

Only gases can burn
Thus the contents of the cylinder can not go bang unless the fuel droplets created in the carburettor venturi have undergone a phase transformation to turn into gasses.
I don't really know what else you could be needing to know.
The longer wait times allows more heat from the engine to be transferred into the fuel\Do you want R values and 4th order quadratic equations .
I have no idea what the latient heat of vapourisation for fuel is as I have no idea exactly what is in it.
Neither Benzene nor Tollunene can vapourise at under 15 C and then the rate it will depend upon the rate head can be adsorbed and the partial pressure of the vapours and the equilibirum value between the gas & liquid state at cylinder compression.
Then it has to be adjusted to account for the film strength of the droplets and any surface tension modifiers present

bertsmobile1 said:

Only gases can burn
Thus the contents of the cylinder can not go bang unless the fuel droplets created in the carburettor venturi have undergone a phase transformation to turn into gasses.
I don't really know what else you could be needing to know.
The longer wait times allows more heat from the engine to be transferred into the fuel\Do you want R values and 4th order quadratic equations .
I have no idea what the latient heat of vapourisation for fuel is as I have no idea exactly what is in it.
Neither Benzene nor Tollunene can vapourise at under 15 C and then the rate it will depend upon the rate head can be adsorbed and the partial pressure of the vapours and the equilibirum value between the gas & liquid state at cylinder compression.
Then it has to be adjusted to account for the film strength of the droplets and any surface tension modifiers present

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You have been agreeing with my original assumption of fuel vaporization. I was looking for possible answers other than fuel vaporization, if any, that I have overlooked. The engine would probably start on first pull every time if I would squirt a little fuel into the carburetor throat first. I am not planning on doing this ever with this mower. I have a larger Chinese made, Honda copycat, engine on my tiller that for now for whatever reason loves to be fed fuel directly before starting and the manual choke appears to be still working as it should since I have to fully open the choke fairly soon after the engine starts. Maybe the carburetor needs cleaning. The tiller only gets started once in the spring and once in the fall so for now I do not care to pursue it. Thank you for your input.

On cooler fall days my HRX217 would be hard to start. When I would stop to empty the bag full of leaves and restart I'd have to pull 5-7 times. My new Super Recycler has blade stop but I've also had much better luck starting and restarting it in cooler weather

gotomow said:

On cooler fall days my HRX217 would be hard to start. When I would stop to empty the bag full of leaves and restart I'd have to pull 5-7 times. My new Super Recycler has blade stop but I've also had much better luck starting and restarting it in cooler weather

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gotomow, did your HRX217 have the GCV190 or the GCV200 engine? My old Honda had the GCV160 engine that would crank 90% of the time on the first pull and in real cold weather you may have to add 1-2 pulls. After playing around a bit I think the trick in cold weather is to "prime" the engine with a couple of pulls, wait 1-2 minutes then pull again. At least it worked a few days ago when we still had pretty cold weather. Two days ago it reached 70F here and the mower started with 2 pulls.

Mine had the 190cc engine

oillogger said:

You have been agreeing with my original assumption of fuel vaporization. I was looking for possible answers other than fuel vaporization, if any, that I have overlooked. The engine would probably start on first pull every time if I would squirt a little fuel into the carburetor throat first. I am not planning on doing this ever with this mower. I have a larger Chinese made, Honda copycat, engine on my tiller that for now for whatever reason loves to be fed fuel directly before starting and the manual choke appears to be still working as it should since I have to fully open the choke fairly soon after the engine starts. Maybe the carburetor needs cleaning. The tiller only gets started once in the spring and once in the fall so for now I do not care to pursue it. Thank you for your input.

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Well if you are right then you are right, what more do you want ?
different carbs will make different size droplets of fuel to be created at different venturii flows .
It is generally matched to things like the length of the inlet tract, the material used in the manifold etc, etc, etc .
getting these exactly right is the dark art of performance tuning which is not bothered with on mower engines.

gotomow said:

Mine had the 190cc engine

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Interesting, I had figured the GCV190 would have been easy to start just as my GCV160 is since they are both basically of the same prior design.

oillogger said:

Interesting, I had figured the GCV190 would have been easy to start just as my GCV160 is since they are both basically of the same prior design.

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At long as the temps were 60-90 degrees it was easily started.
The cold weather hard starting and the plastic bushings on the axle are why I moved on

I have completed two total yard cuttings(1st one mostly weeds, 2nd one light grass) and 2-3 pine straw pickups so far. In between time I played around cranking the mower every few days to see how many pulls it would take to start. With the warmer weather it only takes 1-2 pulls. In cold weather I believe you can reduce the number of pulls to start by waiting a 2-3 minutes after the first couple of pulls to try again. So far the mower handles well with only one issue so far. The top plastic handle sticks out to the side where it connects over the metal handle bar creating a squared off ridge of about 1/4". Perfect for catching a finger nail when cranking your mower. I know this from the experience of losing about 1/3 of my finger nail, bleeding like a stuck pig for a few minutes, and speaking in some unheard of language. Worst, afterwards I had to endure my wife, the super hero nurse, insisting on daily bandages with ointments instead of allowing it to just heal on its own. Because of the excessive level of care provided I always try to hide all wounds from my wife. Because I can see this perhaps happening again I may try to eliminate the squared off ridge somehow and I am open to any ideas others may have. Other than that there have been no issues with bagging, speed control, wheel adjustment, fuel tank size, etc. I did try cutting my lawn on the lowest setting and found parts of my yard were not level enough so the mower body would drag. I'll post again after a few more times at bat with the mower to provide anyone looking into purchasing a Honda HRX217 more info on my experience with my HRX217.

Today I now have mowed my yard a total of six times. Five of the six times were light cuttings. I lowered the mower one more notch today to the last one to try it out over the whole yard. The rear wheels were not hard to adjust as others have complained since I always lift the wheels corner slightly when adjusting the wheels. By cutting the grass this low there was thick older growth grass of 3+ weeks being cut so it worked the mower more. Not a problem for my HRX217, the engine only picked up speed a little bit and never came close to bogging down. The mower body would drag in a few places next to my 550' of fence, over a few of the roots under my pine tree, and very little in some spots in the middle of the yard. After today's experience it is best to cut my lawn one level higher and wish the lowest setting was 1" instead of 3/4". I am being too picky about the cutting height. Cranking today only took one pull when first starting the mower for the day and thank goodness I have not murdered my finger nail again as I did in early March. My HRX217 bags like a champ and packs a lot of grass in the bag. I find the shorter wheelbase of my old HRR216 was a little bit easier to move around in tight places. I still use the Honda Select Drive as a variable speed control without any issues. The Honda Select Drive cable is slowly starting to stretch out as fully expected and I may need to adjust the cable by the end of the summer. I am able to cut my lawn with one tank of gas and the new fuel tank is a breeze to fill compared to my old Honda and Toro mowers. Overall I am quite pleased with my HRX217 mower. At this time the only minor changes/improvements I would like to see at this point is a cutting height adjustment between the two lowest settings, shorter wheel base as the HRN216 has, and the fingernail murder spot addressed. I will report again later in the summer hoping any prospective HRX217 buyers will get some useful information.

Well the monsoon season has arrived and here to stay a while. It has rained for 6-7 days straight leaving a little standing water along my fence in the river slit soil my entire yard has. Usually my old Toro and old Honda 216 would sink down dragging the mowers to a stop every so often along the fence where their is 8" buffer of no grass. My new HRX217 did much better for whatever reason. The grass was taller than usual and the yard was wet enough to leave muddy mower wheel tracks. Bagging the wet grass and power was not an issue. Today and only one other time have I experienced my right hand tingling while cutting grass so a padded handle would be a suggested improvement.

oillogger said:

Today and only one other time have I experienced my right hand tingling while cutting grass so a padded handle would be a suggested improvement

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I almost forgot about the tingling numbing of my hands when using my HRX217.

gotomow said:

I almost forgot about the tingling numbing of my hands when using my HRX217.

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The Toro Personal Pace systems absorbs most of the vibration in the tension of the drive cable as the handle slides back and forth so advantage Toro there in the mower wars. My old Honda HRR216 had foam padding on the handle which worked well to eliminate the vibration. Right now for me it is only effects my right hand for whatever reason for about 15-20% of the times I cut my lawn and only towards the end of the cutting. If it continues exactly the same I may one day start doing my best Michael Jackson impersonation by wearing only one glove. I still prefer the older Smart Drive over the Select Drive as I only treat the Select Drive as a throttle lever instead of a cruise control. I adjust my speed constantly as I go without really thinking about it so cruise control is not needed for me. After a little over 10 cuttings I still am glad I purchased my HRX217. As with any product there could always be improvements all subjective to someone's opinion.

We are well into the monsoon season here so I have had to cut my lawn a few times when it is mushy leaving mud tracks everywhere like all the other folks here. Along the fence where my old Toro and Honda 216 would drag a lot from the tires sinking in the mud the Honda HRX217 does much better. I attribute that to the longer wheelbase and the wheels being set 1/4" higher. I have also mulched most of the time which has worked out well despite how wet the grass is or how short I cut it. The last two times I mulched the lawn and after both times there was only a small pinch of grass in the chute unlike I had read on other reviews so I guess my chute closes off well for mulching. I have never mulched with my old Toro and Honda so I cannot compare to them. I did have tingling in my right hand one more time but started managing the Select Drive with my left hand which eliminated the problem. My left hand is a slow learner so it will take a few more times until mindless operated muscle memory kicks in. My HRX217 cranks on 1-2 pulls whereas my old Honda 216 usually without fail cranked on one pull.

My mower has gotten a tested quite a bit this year so far. Quite a few soggy lawn cuttings and three debris filled lawn cuttings after Hurricane Ida. It takes some time for the small debris to finally go away as new debris gets scattered on your yard as trees get cut, your home gets roofed, fences built, inside demo, etc. Only one time did the mower ever bogged down and it was tall dripping wet grass on a low cut level. The chute also had clogged up with grass at the time. The plastic deck held up thru two cuttings around the area where I had a large 40 year old pine tree that fell during Hurricane Ida chopped up and the stump ground down. There were wood chips everywhere. All I did was pick up the big chips and allowed the mower to pick up the rest. My HRX217 still usually cranks on the first pull and the hand numbing is no longer a problem since I changed the way I control the mower. The Select Drive cable has slowed down on stretching and has not needed adjusting yet. Maybe next year the cable will need adjusting. I love the fuel tank opening which makes refilling the tank super easy. The 200cc Honda engine is definitely more powerful than any of the mowers I have had in the past. I also find the mower mulches well. Overall I am happy with my HRX217 with the several good points it has. The minor improvements I would like are not deal breakers in any way but here they are:

• About a 20% smaller grass bag as the current bag is quite heavy when full of wet grass for this old retired fart. I always know when the bag is plum full of wet grass as the front wheels start to float a little.
• Shorter wheel base of 1-2 inches for tighter areas.
• Padded handle bars to ease numbing of the hands.
• Remove the fingernail murderer 1/4” edge on the handle where plastic handle meets the handle metal tubing on the pull crank side. I am now very much aware of that edge while cranking the mower.

Hopefully my posting will assist someone else when considering purchasing a Honda HRX217 mower.

My mower has been doing well. After Hurricane Ida we had to have a bunch of work done inside, take a tree down, replace my fence, and now waiting for the patio to be replaced. When the fence was replaced I told the guys I would spread the dirt/clay from the fence post holes. Well I did that and finally got to cut my grass again on a mulch setting after a couple of good rains that had helped to beat the dirt/clay I had spread around into the grass. The dirt/clay was still moist but the wheels of my mower did not sink very far into the dirt/clay. Today, a week later, I went to cut my grass again but on the bagging setting and I could not move the lever. Much to my surprise there was about 1-1/2 gallons in volume of clay underneath the deck of the mower all the way up to the blades. When I had cut grass the last time the mower did fine despite all of the attached clay on the underside. After removing the clay on the underside the selection lever for mulching or bagging worked as it should. I went on to cut the grass with zero issues. Cranked on first pull. Still a happy camper with my HRX217 mower.

Another long term update. Still have not had to adjust my Select Drive cable and I still have some 2-3 dial increases I can go. The HRX217 handles the wet ground from the summer monsoons much better my HRN216 did. The mower will not always crank on the first pull so I do a gentle slow pull then she starts right up on a half way good pull. The mulch/bag lever has a hard time making the last half notch to the much position but I only find a small handful of grass in the bag once finish cutting my lawn so it is not a concern. The other day I did manage to whack the end of one of my water hoses into two metal pieces. And a couple of weeks prior the mower sent 5" industrial stainless steel safety pin flying and heavily bent. I have not found any cracks or missing sections of plastic mower deck. Still a happy camper with my HRX217 mower.