New LawnBoy mowers with 2 cycle engines.

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I stumbled across a LawnBoy dealer last week who still has 3 new push mowers left with 2 cycle engines.

These are 21" push units with the steel deck. Basic.

I was shocked that there were some new ones still out there. I had figured that all of the new 2 cycle units had been sold by now.
 
They dont get much airplay anymore, but I have always really liked Lawnboys. I dont know about the new motors, but the older gens used to have timing advance - on a mower! which really boosted the power output. additionally, the engines are really light - making the mower really easy to manuever, and those are commercial duty engines that last forever! really unappreciated. hmmm.. too bad you're so far south.
 
That's a rare find. I would have thought the same thing until I saw one like you described for sale at a Meijers (Midwest Super Wal Mart type store) last summer. Seeing a new, discontinued mower like that is like having a face to face look at a Sasquatch.

If all mowers have the 6 1/2 HP Duraforce engines on them I can vouch for that engine in two words - very strong! A lot of them tend to surge however, so you might have to tinker with it to allievate the problem. I own two, 2 cycle Lawn Boys with that engine + all the whistles and bells on them: 1) A self propelled Commercial Version with a red 1 gallon gas tank and 2) An electric start, Personal Pace (Easy Stride), self propel version.
At only 80 to 85lbs total, they both are powerful, light and manuverable. Kind of like an F16. The push version you saw should be even lighter. That is why I sold my used Toro Super Recycler mower (which struggled in tall, thick grass), to get the second mower.
 
I owned a Lawn Boy that I purchased in the mid '90s and it was one of the best push mowers that I've ever owned.
If the price is right, buy at least one.
 
MMMM Yummy. I love my Lawn Boy.. A 10 year old, aluminum deck, commercial 5 horse. It has never failed me. 32:1 MX2T, and some midgrade fuel, an MP3 player, and I'm mowin.
 
My dad bought one in the 70s, we put a commercial engine (Iron Horse IIRC) on it in the mid 80's and it saw light use until '01 when I stopped using it. Now my brother bought a house and started using it again, starts on the first pull.
 
Originally Posted By: Best F100
That's a rare find. I would have thought the same thing until I saw one like you described for sale at a Meijers (Midwest Super Wal Mart type store) last summer. Seeing a new, discontinued mower like that is like having a face to face look at a Sasquatch.


That's the truth. AFAIK, Residential grade 2-stroke Lawn Boys were discontinued years ago.

Joel
 
The 2 cycles are fetching upwards of $750+ brand new on ebay and craigslist. The lawncare guys are snatching up any they can find.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
So what's the advantage of a 2 cycle over a 4 cycle mower?


Advantage: Lots of torque and you never have to change your oil.
Disadvantage: They pollute the air more than a 4 cycle mower, hence they were taken off the market. (They seriously are a good mower though)
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
So what's the advantage of a 2 cycle over a 4 cycle mower?


Excellent power/weight ratio, lighter. But they pollute like sonofab, smoke, foul plugs easier... generally everything that makes weed whackers/leafblowers bad.
 
Quote:
So what's the advantage of a 2 cycle over a 4 cycle mower?


Another advantage is that the motor is propoerly oiled when mowing very steep hills.
 
Originally Posted By: oily boyd
Another advantage is that the motor is propoerly oiled when mowing very steep hills.


IMO, that's your major advantage right there. That and no need to maintain/change engine oil. Everything else can easily be exceeded by an OHV 4-stroke.

Joel
 
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Coolest sounding mower on the block, unless a neighbor has a Toro with a Suzuki 2 stroke! Those engines have a soul built right into them.
 
Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Originally Posted By: Nayov
So what's the advantage of a 2 cycle over a 4 cycle mower?


Excellent power/weight ratio, lighter. But they pollute like sonofab, smoke, foul plugs easier... generally everything that makes weed whackers/leafblowers bad.



You can get almost eliminate all the the smoke, fouled plugs and carbon built up on the exhaust port by using a synthetic 2 cycle oil. Examples are the discontinued Mobil 1 2T (I have a bunch stocked up), Amsoil and a few others. I just get a puff of smoke on start up, and that's about all I see.

Funny story: I cut my neighbors yard with HIS old style, 2 cycle Lawn Boy (he was on vacation). He uses mineral based, 2 cycle oil. There was a tree that had a hornets nest up on one of the limbs. There was so much smoke, that when I cut under a tree, well I guess that mower smoke woke up the hive. It looked like an air force release of hornets coming out. Well, I took off running down the hill to get away. I was trying to beat them off my head with my cap. The mower did not have a shut off handle. It kept going on its own in the opposite direction. My two kids who watched it all from a distance, fell on the ground from laughter. I'm done (& I'm stung).
 
Originally Posted By: Tom_T
Coolest sounding mower on the block, unless a neighbor has a Toro with a Suzuki 2 stroke! Those engines have a soul built right into them.


I had a co-worker who had a Snapper 2 cycle push lawn mower. I'd never seen one before and he told me they were rare. I don't know who made the engine for it, but it sounded pretty cool.
 
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