Bucket list mowers

[doitmyself]

My father-in-law had one of these John Deeres circa 1973: "The advertising for the Patio Series was interesting. Deere played with different concepts appealing to upper middle class life like letting your wife pick out her favorite color (I’m not touching that with a ten foot pole…) or matching the color of your mower to the color of your boat/car/lawn furniture."

I suppose my bucket list mower would be one of the very old green, 60's, 2 cycle lawn boys that my grandfather owned and always bragged about.

 

[AnthemBassMan]

Mine is my 1975 LawnBoy 5024 Bricktop. I bought it 4-5 years ago with the intention of restoring it, But I love mowing with it. I’ve only had to replace the primer circuit the first year I had it, then clean the carb and replace the original float two years ago. She always fires up on the first or second pull. I have a LawnBoy 5254 that I use to help preserve the life of my Bricktop.

L8R,
Matt

 

[ArcherDriver]

My "bucket list mower" includes only 2 items...a gin and tonic plus being able to pay someone else to do it.

well put. You forgot the ice.

 

[Skol8480]

Mine might seem lame, but it's for nostalgic reasons. I'd want a 22" Snapper rear motor Tecumseh with the bicycle handles. My dad had one when I was a little kid and I loved cruising around on that thing. First riding mower I ever used and I spent plenty of hours cutting the grass on it as a kid as we had a big yard. It was built like a brick outhouse.

 

[super20dan]

john deere jx85 better than a toro 22040. i bought one 30 years ago severely used for$ 100 and still use it today. replaced the trans 2 years ago . also have the rare 2 stroke deere 12sb . these get light commercial duty. the toro would win hands down as best except the weak front wheel adjustment desighn. eventually the suzuki will wear out the gov assembly but this takes decades to do. the kawi on the deer has an oil filter. the oil can go several commercial seasons between changes.

 

[Warlord]

john deere jx85 better than a toro 22040. i bought one 30 years ago severely used for$ 100 and still use it today. replaced the trans 2 years ago . also have the rare 2 stroke deere 12sb . these get light commercial duty. the toro would win hands down as best except the weak front wheel adjustment desighn. eventually the suzuki will wear out the gov assembly but this takes decades to do. the kawi on the deer has an oil filter. the oil can go several commercial seasons between changes.

There‘s a jx75 for sale nearby for 100 bucks and I’m kinda curious so I might go grab it. Something wrong with the self propel apparently but otherwise good shape. The Kubota I posted is shaft/gear driven and is more robust than any belt design I can imagine.

 

[jeepman3071]

There‘s a jx75 for sale nearby for 100 bucks and I’m kinda curious so I might go grab it. Something wrong with the self propel apparently but otherwise good shape. The Kubota I posted is shaft/gear driven and is more robust than any belt design I can imagine.

There is a good chance the self propel belt is loose/broken or there is a shifting cable out of adjustment.

 

[Warlord]

I’d also love one of these super old push mowers with the teeth on the front of the deck. This design would be just better for cutting tall grass but they’re all closed nowadays. I’ve seen people cut the front of modern decks open to increase the performance in tall grass.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

That's super cool, almost steampunk design.

 

[bchannell]

For a push mower it would be an 18" Lawnboy from around 1975, fantastic mowers. We'll never see stuff like that again. For a garden tractor, I have a JD 425, one of the best ever made. I'd like to have a 455 too. My all time fav would be a X7xx in a diesel 4wd, now that would be a mowing machine. I have about 5 acres to mow and keep saying all the time I'm gonna go buy a X7xx but my 425 just keeps going and going, so not yet.

 

[super20dan]

the trans is the weak point on the deeres. the 85 and 75 use the same trans but different length axels. its very complex inside as its got 5 gears . not easy to repair. just know this going in. other wise the finest 21 in mower ever made bar none.

 

[Warlord]

I bought the JX75 for 75 doll hairs. Seems well built. Similar to a modern toro commercial but harder to find parts.

 

[Warlord]

I've always had a soft spot for the Honda HT3813. It might not have been a good mower, I don't know either way, but it was a 2 cylinder water cooled machine. I just found that to be cool. Like cutting grass with half a Civic shoved under the hood.

There’s a liquid cooled 4518 for sale near me. Id get it if it had something larger than a 46” deck. A Kubota tg1860g with the liquid cooled Kawasaki and a 54” deck would suit me better.

 

[jeepman3071]

There’s a liquid cooled 4518 for sale near me. Id get it if it had something larger than a 46” deck. A Kubota tg1860g with the liquid cooled Kawasaki and a 54” deck would suit me better.

The liquid cooled Hondas are neat but it seems every one I've seen has a rotted out mower deck, at least around here.

 

[JTK]

The liquid cooled Hondas are neat but it seems every one I've seen has a rotted out mower deck, at least around here.

Exactly!

I've looked at a few of the 2cyl OHC liquid cooled riding mowers that were in excellent shape, but like you say, the deck long gone. I don't think you can get replacement deck shells anymore for them either.

Such a neat little rider though. Those engines purr like a little automotive 4cyl as you'd expect from Hondoo.

 

[Warlord]

Thin stamped decks + people putting them away for weeks at a time packed full of wet grass will rot any deck. Super common here too. Are Hondas even more susceptible to this? I see craftsman decks quite often with more holes than Swiss cheese. Then people wonder why they can’t keep the belt on the flexing pulleys.

 

[JTK]

Thin stamped decks + people putting them away for weeks at a time packed full of wet grass will rot any deck. Super common here too. Are Hondas even more susceptible to this? I see craftsman decks quite often with more holes than Swiss cheese. Then people wonder why they can’t keep the belt on the flexing pulleys.

For sure on that.

The other issue I see all the time is owners keeping the deck mashed down onto the ground while they mow. This increases the wear and breakage rate of everything by like 10x.

 

[jeepman3071]

For sure on that.

The other issue I see all the time is owners keeping the deck mashed down onto the ground while they mow. This increases the wear and breakage rate of everything by like 10x.

Oh yeah, I have a few customers that insist on mowing their lawn at the lowest setting yet wonder why they go through mower deck wheels every season.

As far as the Hondas, I'm not sure why they are all rotted out, I haven't seen one in person but my guess would be they have a thinner stamped steel mowing deck and people leave wet grass under it because of course "it's a Honda" therefore that means they do zero maintenance.

 

[frankbee3]

I've always had a soft spot for the Honda HT3813. It might not have been a good mower, I don't know either way, but it was a 2 cylinder water cooled machine. I just found that to be cool. Like cutting grass with half a Civic shoved under the hood.

I have one of the Honda HT3813 mowers. I really like it. I bought it when I first moved to a property and really needed a mower ASAP. A guy had it for sale and let me drive it around. It was quiet and smooth, so I bought it. I still have it and love to use it. It stays in my garage when not in use. I need to get a service manual for it. I use it for the smaller lawn in front of the house. For the larger area, I have a Kubota BX23 garden tractor with a 60 inch mower deck. I prefer using the Honda because it is quieter.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I have one of the Honda HT3813 mowers. I really like it. I bought it when I first moved to a property and really needed a mower ASAP. A guy had it for sale and let me drive it around. It was quiet and smooth, so I bought it. I still have it and love to use it. It stays in my garage when not in use. I need to get a service manual for it. I use it for the smaller lawn in front of the house. For the larger area, I have a Kubota BX23 garden tractor with a 60 inch mower deck. I prefer using the Honda because it is quieter.

Quite a nice little machine. Lifespan on that type of setup has to be really good!