I am a new member (friendly neighbor from the north) is seeking advice on a self-propelled mower. I have been soaking up lots of great info from this site over the past couple of weeks to help me trim my options and have narrowed the field to 2(ish) mowers. Little background on what I will be cutting;
4 properties (3 rentals and my primary residence)
Primary residence is 180 by 80 and contains about 30 degree grade
Rentals vary from hour to half hour each, residence 2 plus hours
Cut rentals every week and a half, cut residence every week
I am currently using a Lawnboy 6.5hp self-propelled. Due to the slope I originally had been thinking Husqvarna HU800 AWD, but have taken it off the list as most people on this site have said that the Honda's do not have any issues with uphill propulsion. Have narrowed it down to Honda HRR2169VKC $559.00 and Honda HRX2174HYC $869.99 but am looking for some opinions to determine if the extra $300 is worthwhile. Any response to the following would greatly be appreciated:
Is the Nexite deck an upgrade?
Will I notice the extra 30ccs?
Does the leaf shredding work well?
How much of an upgrade is the Hydrostatic transmission?
I will hopefully use this mower for the next 10 years so realistically the extra money over that time is not too drastic, however, I would like to get the best mower without spending for a good reason. I know some will suggest a ZTR and with all the info on this site I am already drooling but the warden has not green lighted that purchase yet and is does not really work with the way my current yards are set out.
