New-to-me HRB217TDA

[Hokiefyd]

Some friends of ours had moved to Virginia and asked me to help sell their lawn equipment, a John Deere L111 and a Honda HRB217TDA (one of the plastic mowers). They were going to give me 10% commission for doing so. I sold the Deere in a few days for $800 (more than what he thought he could get for it).

I never was much for the plastic Honda mowers -- they felt too light to me, too "bouncy" over rough surfaces. But I mowed pieces of my yard with it over the past few days (test driving it, you know), and it seemed to work better than I remembered. It's super easy to maneuver around -- it weighs less than 90 pounds and it seems to have a good balance to it, at least when mulching. I haven't ran it with a full bag yet. It's in great shape, and I've maintained it since new. I replaced the shift cable about 4 years ago on it, and replaced the carburetor last season with a new Honda one -- I believe both failures were due to infrequent use (he's an O-4 in the Army and was gone a lot). The 6.5hp GCV190 starts on the first pull and sounds strong. I took all of the wheels off and oiled the ball bearings in each (a nice touch, to have ball bearings at each corner). I also oiled the the little dog ear clutch in the axle, so make sure it engages and over-runs smoothly. He's got the whole lot: the mower with the bag and the mulch plug. This is not the HRX with the selectable clippings control lever -- this is the model prior to that.

So I decided that I had to have it. I'd otherwise not spend the money to buy one of these used, and I know it's been well taken care of. I asked if I could just keep the Honda as my commission. He agreed.

That brings my walk-behind mower total to, ahem, five. But my plans are to consolidate, and sell a few. But that's for another day. For now...time to learn and enjoy the new one!

 

[Skittles]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Some friends of ours had moved to Virginia and asked me to help sell their lawn equipment, a John Deere L111 and a Honda HRB217TDA (one of the plastic mowers). They were going to give me 10% commission for doing so. I sold the Deere in a few days for $800 (more than what he thought he could get for it).

I never was much for the plastic Honda mowers -- they felt too light to me, too "bouncy" over rough surfaces. But I mowed pieces of my yard with it over the past few days (test driving it, you know), and it seemed to work better than I remembered. It's super easy to maneuver around -- it weighs less than 90 pounds and it seems to have a good balance to it, at least when mulching. I haven't ran it with a full bag yet. It's in great shape, and I've maintained it since new. I replaced the shift cable about 4 years ago on it, and replaced the carburetor last season with a new Honda one -- I believe both failures were due to infrequent use (he's an O-4 in the Army and was gone a lot). The 6.5hp GCV190 starts on the first pull and sounds strong. I took all of the wheels off and oiled the ball bearings in each (a nice touch, to have ball bearings at each corner). I also oiled the the little dog ear clutch in the axle, so make sure it engages and over-runs smoothly. He's got the whole lot: the mower with the bag and the mulch plug. This is not the HRX with the selectable clippings control lever -- this is the model prior to that.

So I decided that I had to have it. I'd otherwise not spend the money to buy one of these used, and I know it's been well taken care of. I asked if I could just keep the Honda as my commission. He agreed.

That brings my walk-behind mower total to, ahem, five. But my plans are to consolidate, and sell a few. But that's for another day. For now...time to learn and enjoy the new one!

The worst part about that mower is the GCV engine. Although they are extremely easy to start and are pretty quiet and don't use much gas. They just aren't as durable as the old gxv engines. For residential use though it's probably not an issue. They do cut nice.

 

[stchman]

Nice commission.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Skittles
For residential use though it's probably not an issue.


Yeah, I don't think it will be. My 2003 GCV160 on a Craftsman deck has many hundreds of hours on it (probably not 1,000 hours, but many more than a typical homeowner will put on one) and it purrs like a kitten still. This is a 2003 HRB model, and I know this GCV190 has got WAY fewer hours on it than I have on my GCV160.

I think the biggest area where the GXV has the GCV beat in operation, besides the longevity items like iron liner and ball bearings, is the smoothness. The GXV140 on my HR215 is just buttery smooth. The GCVs feel just a slightest bit coarser to me.

What impresses me most about this is the noise. There's usually quite a bit of deck noise/roar from blades and such, but this mower is insanely quiet. I expected the opposite, from the composite deck, but it's really very quiet.

 

[Lawn_Care]

Congrats on the HRB mower!

That thing will last for many years, and don't worry about the engine. It'll still be running when the rest of the mower wears out.

 

[JTK]

Real nice mower!

The wheels, hubs, axles, etc are engineered well on the Hondas and pretty straight forward to service. A pair of snap-ring pliers and some wrenches is all you need to disassemble.

Just beware of the rear axle bushings. The majority of the time, this is what kills the drive system on later model Honda mowers. They corrode, bind and put a huge drag on the drive system. You won't know it when free-wheeling the mower because the axle is only driven when the drive is engaged.

You can remove, emery paper, clean and re-lube them, but the better option is to just replace them every 3-5yrs or so. More if you get the machine wet regularly.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: JTK
The wheels, hubs, axles, etc are engineered well on the Hondas and pretty straight forward to service. A pair of snap-ring pliers and some wrenches is all you need to disassemble.


Yep -- already taken care of re-lubing all of the wheel bearings and the ratchet key drive in the rear.

Originally Posted By: JTK
Just beware of the rear axle bushings. The majority of the time, this is what kills the drive system on later model Honda mowers. They corrode, bind and put a huge drag on the drive system. You won't know it when free-wheeling the mower because the axle is only driven when the drive is engaged.


I think this one may have this problem -- it free-wheels forward just fine, but there's a pretty big drag when pulling backwards (engine off). I assumed it was just because the transmission pulley was trying to turn against the belt.

Have you run across a little how-to on replacing these axle bushings?

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

Have you run across a little how-to on replacing these axle bushings?


Jason, I haven't searched, but by now, there's probably a DIY tutorial or 5 out there.

I removed, cleaned, re-lubed and reinstalled mine twice on my HRS21 single speed self propelled that I bought new back in 1999. It was years ago given I don't regularly use this mower anymore. It is a straight forward repair. You need snap-ring pliers to remove the axle components and take pics to remember the order of the flat and spring washers, etc..

The key to long axle bushing life is don't get the machine soaking wet.

 

[Hokiefyd]

For what it's worth, I took the right side rear wheel adjuster off, and the axle bushings appear to be just fine. I think the resistance I feel pulling it back is normal -- just the axle turning the gears in the transmission.