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Hey just wanted to share this with you guys i just picked this up off of C.L. for 75.00 yesterday i need to get a battery but having a hard time finding one other then that everything works like new

Looks great! You'll like the controls (just like my HRX)! :thumbsup:

im having a hard time getting use to the there not like my 14SB but i like the way it runs and cuts plus all my J.D. 14 SB parts ( bagger and rear discharge ) fit it just had to make a small mod took 2 mins. but i need a battery

I moved your thread to the Honda Forum. :smile:

I got a battery for mine at Interstate Batteries. Honda's part number for them is 31500-VA3-S01, and they are pretty darn pricey. Interstate's was about half the price of OEM.

ok great ill check into this this morning how ever i do have a guy coming to look at it tonight so ill not buy one till i see if he buys it or not since i have already priced it as it sets

scott47429 said:

Hey just wanted to share this with you guys i just picked this up off of C.L. for 75.00 yesterday i need to get a battery but having a hard time finding one other then that everything works like new

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I remember those...bulletproof machines. Can't beat the chrome handlebars...

More here: Click here for link (wikipedia) :laughing: :laughing:

yeah it seems to be a great mower other then it needs a battery and charger other then that its perfect hey Robert is that considered a commercial mower

I haven't had to put mine on the charger yet this mowing season. If the charging coil is doing it's job, 20 minutes of mowing or so will keep the battery charged up.

oh ok i didnt know it had a charging coil

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.

bwdbrn1 said:

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

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It's been a challenge.

When Honda and Deere agreed to get "married," they both recognized it was going to be a big effort on both part to make the deal work. It will be two years this fall since the first date, and a lot of progress has been made, but there's a lot more still to go. While the Deere dealers are really sharp on "big iron" only a few of them had much experience with smaller lawn and garden stuff, and very little knew much about Honda, much less Honda as a company. On the Honda side, Honda field staff were already quite thin, and overnight, the number of dealers they had to support doubled and in some cases tripled. Usually, when a Honda field sales or service rep picks up a new dealer, the new dealer is at least in the lawn and garden business, but many of these new Deere dealers had never even touched an engine that wasn't at least a 50 hp diesel with 36" ag tires and green/yellow paint. Needless to say, it continues to be challenging for everyone and of course frustrating for customers. It will take some time for things to ramp up. The good news is it is still a great fit. Deere has an incredible dealer network, loyal brand and retail customer base. They are excited to be able to offer quality small gas engine products and full line-up from Honda. Honda if totally pumped about expanding into all of the Deere network of retail stores and there is virtually no overlap with current Honda dealers. The Honda brand "fits" in Deere dealers and Deere dealer know it too. So do Deere customers. If anybody is nervous about this, it's other lawn and garden manufacturer's who also sell to Deere dealers, such as the St*hl Co.

While far from perfect, it will surely prove to be a good decision in the end. Stick with it guys. I know most of the guys at Deere dealerships sincerely want to earn your business, and Honda is working hard to get them trained to know the products to do just that.

i think the Deere dealers will get to where they need to be but right now its just not a good thing when the customer knows more then the dealer about the product they sell and i dont know about all over but there is alot of over lap around here with the Honda dealers we have a Honda motorcycle shop selling them the John Deere dealer Home Depot and i know of at least 2 other small engine places that deal in Honda all within a 15-30 mile radius but the John Deere dealer is the only one that has them for 399.00 everyone else wants 459.00-499.00 for the same mower

scott47429 said:

i think the Deere dealers will get to where they need to be but right now its just not a good thing when the customer knows more then the dealer about the product they sell and i dont know about all over but there is alot of over lap around here with the Honda dealers we have a Honda motorcycle shop selling them the John Deere dealer Home Depot and i know of at least 2 other small engine places that deal in Honda all within a 15-30 mile radius but the John Deere dealer is the only one that has them for 399.00 everyone else wants 459.00-499.00 for the same mower

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That shows that either prices of Honda equipment can be lowered and still make a profit OR that everyone else's prices are higher because they have more knowledge about the product.

i dont know what it is but i have talked to a few people ( dealers ) and they all say thats the price pretty much take it or leave it nothing they can do one dealer told me that he had like 20 bucks to play with and he would do that for me but thats all he can do so he told me to go to John Deere and buy it if i can get it for that price another guy said he would sell it at his cost but if he sold it for what John Deere has it for he would loose money so im not sure whats going on maybe Honda has different pricing plans for there dealers like the more yiu buy the cheaper you can get them for one guy told me for him to buy them at that price he had to buy 10,000 dollars worth

scott47429 said:

i dont know what it is but i have talked to a few people ( dealers ) and they all say thats the price pretty much take it or leave it nothing they can do one dealer told me that he had like 20 bucks to play with and he would do that for me but thats all he can do so he told me to go to John Deere and buy it if i can get it for that price another guy said he would sell it at his cost but if he sold it for what John Deere has it for he would loose money so im not sure whats going on maybe Honda has different pricing plans for there dealers like the more yiu buy the cheaper you can get them for one guy told me for him to buy them at that price he had to buy 10,000 dollars worth

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I guess they figure it's worth it to lose a customer but keep the prices higher. :confused3:

i guess so thats not the way i look at it but its not my business so ill buy one a JD if i can get over the fact they dont even know what there selling but with everyones help ill get it there and take it to another dealer for work if it needs any while its under warranty i want the HRX217VKA but the HRR216VKA is all i can afford

scott47429 said:

i guess so thats not the way i look at it but its not my business so ill buy one a JD if i can get over the fact they dont even know what there selling but with everyones help ill get it there and take it to another dealer for work if it needs any while its under warranty i want the HRX217VKA but the HRR216VKA is all i can afford

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You will still be happy with the HRR.

i hope so but i really want that 190 cc engine rather then the 160 i guess if i dont like it i can take it back or sell it lol

scott47429 said:

i hope so but i really want that 190 cc engine rather then the 160 i guess if i dont like it i can take it back or sell it lol

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Yeah....the HRX mowers have great features!

scott47429 said:

but the John Deere dealer is the only one that has them for 399.00 everyone else wants 459.00-499.00 for the same mower

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I'd double-check that. +$100 for the exact same model is probably a mistake somewhere, or it is not really the exact same model. I don't ever remember any dealer selling a mower for full retail pop, except when quoting a government bid :tongue:

I would guess the $399 is the one with flywheel brake and the $499 is the one the the blade clutch. Or, one is pull-start and the other is electric start. Really doesn't make sense they are the exact same one and priced a full $100 apart.

That said, once Honda invoices the dealer for the mower, the dealer is completely free to set the retail selling price at whatever they want. That is a federal law my friends. Any wholesaler who tries to force a dealer to set a selling price is guilty of price fixing and is in violation of FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Regulations.

well Robert i hate to argue with you on a Honda but i have been looking at them for over a month now and the only one im interested in is the HRR216VKA and thats the one i have been seeing and looking at although i would love to have the HRX217VKA but cant afford it so i have stayed with the HRR and yes i have found that big of a price gap so far only JD dealers and HD offer it for 399.00 everyone else is 459.00-499.00 i promise you they are all the same mower the only difference i have found is the 8 or 9 after the 216 and you cleared that up yesterday http://www.mowersdirect.com/Honda-H...gn=HRR216VKA&gclid=CI3yt_L2_7cCFZBcMgodcBEAMg the Honda Motorcycle dealer goes right off of Hondas website to price his http://powerequipment.honda.com/lawn-mowers/models/hrr216vka Home Depot is the same as John Deere http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honda-21...Auto-Choke-HRR216K9VKA/203709643#.UcnuVJVi5uo so you see there is a big difference on the same mower

scott47429 said:

well Robert i hate to argue with you on a Honda but i have been looking at them for over a month now and the only one im interested in is the HRR216VKA and thats the one i have been seeing and looking at although i would love to have the HRX217VKA but cant afford it so i have stayed with the HRR and yes i have found that big of a price gap so far only JD dealers and HD offer it for 399.00 everyone else is 459.00-499.00 i promise you they are all the same mower the only difference i have found is the 8 or 9 after the 216 and you cleared that up yesterday http://www.mowersdirect.com/Honda-H...gn=HRR216VKA&gclid=CI3yt_L2_7cCFZBcMgodcBEAMg the Honda Motorcycle dealer goes right off of Hondas website to price his http://powerequipment.honda.com/lawn-mowers/models/hrr216vka Home Depot is the same as John Deere http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honda-21...Auto-Choke-HRR216K9VKA/203709643#.UcnuVJVi5uo so you see there is a big difference on the same mower

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Scott is correct:

Deer Country Farm & Lawn, Inc. - Lawn Mowers

look at the other 3 i posted just now

scott47429 said:

look at the other 3 i posted just now

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Yep and I posted a link to a JD dealer.

Wow.

I stand corrected.

I can't believe MowersDirect is +$100, but talking to some internal staff, it is because of some shipping terms and delivery issues that involve cost. Kind of complicated to explain, but there are some logistical reasons why the price difference.

FYI, all dealers and Home Depot pay the same wholesale price.

ill get it from JD uless i find a coupon for a 100 bucks off the HRX like that will ever happen lol

scott47429 said:

...uless i find a coupon for a 100 bucks off the HRX...

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You're a good comedian! :wink:

In defense of the John Deere dealers I've had contact with, which is two of them in my area. Both deal in lawn and turf equipment, not agricultural equipment. The one nearest me is primarily in the golf and commercial equipment line, and though there is a huge leaping Deere sign on the front of the building, once inside, there is very little to indicate that they are a John Deere dealer. They have a very small show room area, and the last time I was there it was dominated by Stihl at one end, Honda at the other, and Ariens snowblowers in the middle. They were extremely helpful in locating and offering assistance in obtaining parts for a John Deere mower I was reconditioning at the time, and admitted that they were a bit short on knowledge at this point on the Honda line, but were learning. They said they would be happy to order parts for Honda equipment for me as I had told them that I worked on my own machines.

I am going to give the salesman I spoke with at the other dealer the benefit of the doubt, and think that he may have been relatively new to the job. He had a lot of enthusiasm, but sadly not a lot of specific knowledge about the two products I talked to him about. Maybe I didn't talk to him about the right things. There might have been other articles on the showroom floor that he could have talked my leg off about.

Now, I'll go on to the "big box" store experience I had, and I'll name the store. It's Farm and Fleet in Moline, IL. Yet another store located on John Deere Road. I went there hoping to find parts for a Husqvarna walk behind I was working on for a friend since they sell Husqvarnas. I even had the part numbers of what I was looking for as well as the model and serial of the mower. After some time of poking around on his computer, the fellow in their small engine department told me that those parts were no longer available. This was odd because another small engine repair shop had told me that he could get them delivered the next day if I placed the order before 12:00, and he did.

Anyway, another customer came up while I was still there and was wanting to order a diaphragm for a Walbro carb, and somehow the name Honda was brought up. I chuckled and said that compared to the mower I was working on, Hondas seem to practically fix themselves, to which the employee said that they could fix themselves right out by the dumpster. With this I asked if they had any that had been left by customers that they were not going to fix, or trade ins that might be available for purchase. His expression changed and he looked at me as if I might be a Honda company rep and said, no, we have new ones we would gladly sell you, but we do not have any used ones for sale. With that experience, I will not be doing business with them when it comes to small engine or mower parts unless I can find what I need hanging on display in their inventory myself without their expert assistance.

I will continue to do business with my current Honda dealer. He has been selling and repairing Honda outdoor equipment since Honda first started selling outdoor equipment here in the U.S. and knows the line like back of his hand. I've stood off to the side and watched and listened as he explained the features and benefits of a piece of equipment to a potential customer. I've watched and listened as he wheeled out a mower that he repaired and thoroughly explained what he had done, and delivered the parts he replaced to the customer. I will also say, that I am looking forward to working with the John Deere/Honda dealers as they acquire more knowledge about the Honda line. I have to say, though, I doubt they will ever know the in and outs of the Honda products from the 80s and 90s like my Honda dealer does.

bwdbrn1 said:

...

I will continue to do business with my current Honda dealer. He has been selling and repairing Honda outdoor equipment since Honda first started selling outdoor equipment here in the U.S. and knows the line like back of his hand. I've stood off to the side and watched and listened as he explained the features and benefits of a piece of equipment to a potential customer. I've watched and listened as he wheeled out a mower that he repaired and thoroughly explained what he had done, and delivered the parts he replaced to the customer. I will also say, that I am looking forward to working with the John Deere/Honda dealers as they acquire more knowledge about the Honda line. I have to say, though, I doubt they will ever know the in and outs of the Honda products from the 80s and 90s like my Honda dealer does.

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Yeah...chances are the John Deere/Honda dealers will start to learn more about NEWER Hondas, but not the older (but great) ones.