Very good write up DFB
With regards to the turfmaster variable mulching, I had never heard of it either, my only guess is its a New Zealand feature Victa inherited from Steelfort Lawnmaster (who cast that model).
Victa were also buying and marketing Steelforts twin drive cylinder mower up to the mid 2010's until bushranger began selling them in the late 2010's (and discontinued last year). Bushranger at one point had a hodgepodge of steelfort and unbadged victa mowers.
I regularly use a Masport president 5000 with the 161 iron liner DOV motor and can definitely empathise with the annoyance of a half chute
That's some excellent insight, thank you for the information.
What chassis do you have on the Masport, steel or alloy? If it's the steel chassis, make sure to check your front axle bushings on a regular basis.
Going back to the late 2000's, I bought a Masport from the Platinum series with the 19-inch steel chassis and the then all-new 850-series Briggs. I went for the steel base because I wanted something lighter but without stepping back in power. Within about a year, I noticed the mower was cutting unevenly and had become harder and harder to push. In the end, I discovered the front axle bushes were virtually gone, and the axle had flogged out the mounting channels, extending them up into the deck. It effectively wrote off a lawn mower less than a year old. I salvaged the engine, but the rest went to scrap.
The only other Masport I bought after that was a 530 Utility.
How do you find the DOV engine?
