Buying Advice Review of my Honda HRX217HYA

[whitegs]

First time mow today. Started right up and mulched like a dream. When I first start up, the blade engages with no drop in engine speed. After mowing a bit, the engine bogs down momentarily when i engage the blade then runs fine. The mower deck is clean and it happens even if I'm off the grass. It hasn't actually stalled.

Anyone have a similar experience?

Richard

 

[horsey55]

Update....Used for the first time yesterday,started on first pull and after a few passes the Hydrostatic Cruise Control was very intuitive and easy to get used to after 5 seasons with a Smart Drive system.Beautiful job of mulching also.
To the poster after me,I noticed the momentary drop in engine speed when you engage the blades as well.Seemed normal to me,I did not think much of it.Top notch mowing experience,nice machine.

 

[whitegs]

Update....Used for the first time yesterday,started on first pull and after a few passes the Hydrostatic Cruise Control was very intuitive and easy to get used to after 5 seasons with a Smart Drive system.Beautiful job of mulching also.
To the poster after me,I noticed the momentary drop in engine speed when you engage the blades as well.Seemed normal to me,I did not think much of it.Top notch mowing experience,nice machine.

I agree. Very satisfied with the mulch setting even though the grass wasn't perfectly dry. I have to use the lower cruise control setting since at age 81 I can't keep up with the faster speeds. I moved up from a Poulan Pro front wheel drive that I had to push up the slight hills in my lawn. The honda just sailed up and I just had to steer it a bit.

Richard

 

[JBrzoz00]

After about a year I finally got to see how well this machine bags leaves. I lowered my deck to the 2.5" position and this this sucked up leaves like a dream. Short of a large rider with huge bags or paying a company to remove your leaves this machine works great.

 

[Blackdiamond1983]

I have this same mower I bought a few weeks ago and i love it. Although it seems the 190cc engine isn't as powerful as some say. I killed it several times mowing some tall wet grass. As long as the grass is dry it does awsome.

 

[Fibber2]

I've owned my HRX217K2HMA (the electric start version) since April, 2010. I love the performance, but somewhat troubled by the reliability issues encountered. But to be fair, I do put a lot of hours on it per week with an acre+ that I enjoy doing with a walkbehind rather than my tractor. Exercise program for older men!

1) Hydrostatic tranny serviced by dealer under warranty at year 5 (oil change - cold running 'growl' and low ground speed attributed to cavitation). Replacement authorized by American Honda in year 6 as the issues returned the next season. I started hearing something odd the other night, so a little bit concerned about future costs.

2) Electric starter replaced in year 4 (or maybe 5?) due to lack of engagement (pinion not rising up worm gear). I just serviced the second unit myself last night due to the same issue.

3) Battery is expensive! Take proper care of it and it will last a long time, but be prepared for an $85 bill when it comes time. Replacements are available for less if you shop around....

4) I managed to break the handle near the end of last season. Lower right side at the pivot bolt - the weak link spot in the assembly. My property is hilly, with a lot of crazy landscaping details that require a lot of jockeying to get around. This is a near 100 lb mower, IIRC, and the handle takes a beating. I sleeved it with a piece of 1" EMT, and it seems to be holding up reasonably well. A new handle is like a $150 part. Crazy...

5) I'm on my second rear skirt / trailing shield. It has to transition from behind to under when you back up, so if you do this a lot, expect them to tear. I'll be ordering my third one soon.

6) I'll probably need wheels soon also.

7) I do either a blend of bag & mulch or discharge and mulch thanks to the Clip Director. LOVE THAT FEATURE!!! But I hate the idea of rear discharge. So I cobbed together a custom side discharge starting with a piece sold for another Honda mower. Pretty easy and very effective! Now I have my perfect combo.

 

[SuperDave57]

I agree. Very satisfied with the mulch setting even though the grass wasn't perfectly dry. I have to use the lower cruise control setting since at age 81 I can't keep up with the faster speeds. I moved up from a Poulan Pro front wheel drive that I had to push up the slight hills in my lawn. The honda just sailed up and I just had to steer it a bit.

Richard

I just purchased the HRX217K6VLA model that has the Smart Drive system and that's really the main problem I have with my new mower. I don't like the variable speed, have issues maintaining consistent speed, but bigger issue is with the amount of force it takes to pull this mower backwards. It's like the brakes are on while trying to pull backwards, much easier to push forward which is sad because one doesn't need to push it, it has the self-propel feature but if one needs to pull the mower backwards, you have to use brute force to get the darn thing to move!!

I've just bought the mower last week and used it for less than an hour on my small lawn. Don't know if dealer will take it back on trade or what but I'm curious about the difference in the Hydrostatic Cruise Control rather than the Smart Drive system. Does that system also cause the mower to be so hard to pull backwards? I've lived in same house for 23 years and during that time used two self-propelled Snappers that had no issues pulling backwards. Thanks for any input.

 

[Scott_HRR]

I just serviced my drive transmission, drive shaft bearings and seals. Obviously this allowed me to inspect the transmission, gears, etc in detail. Looks like Honda took up all possible side to side thrust in the transmission and got pretty aggressive with shimming so it IS tight to rotate. IF - everything else is really clean pulling it backwards is fine, although noticeably more resistance than pushing forward. Start getting dirt, rust etc on the wheel gears, shaft bushings or anything to add to drag and it will seem pretty hard to pull backwards. If the wheels want to skid when pulling backwards, it’s probably time for Project Honda Drive System teardown and cleaning.

Despite what Honda recommends I eliminated most if not all of the grease and oil points on the drive gears because the accumulation of grass and dirt seems like it actually creates more maintenance and accelerates wear. The only area I applied lubrication was the shaft bushings and seals caps.

I have an 80’s vintage Murray I restored that has the self drive system. It does not use a transmission and therefore pulling backwards feels no different than pushing forward. However; the Murray is like self propelling a Yugo compared to the Honda which is more like a Cadillac. The system on the Honda is also much more bullet proof.