OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Other Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Viking MB450

I recently repowered this unit. I bought this mower new in 1996 and it was powered by a Briggs XTL 55 I/C which still runs OK. I picked up this low hour Honda that the owner was using to run a very small Greenfield after its original engine died.

The Viking is built very nicely. It has an 18 inch alloy base with bearing wheels. The paint coating has proved to be very durable over the years. It has a odd rear chute in that it never closes to seal the deck area. The chute has a large hump in it to accomodate a large volume catcher and when there is no catcher it doubles as a downward deflector for the clippings. It is made of thick gauge steel so it doesn't dent and also has a strong spring so that the force of air on full throttle doesn't open it. The throttle mechanism is one they should all be modelled from. The indents for slow, high and off have lost none of their crispness from 17 years ago. Its an all steel unit with a plastic shroud.

It has a 1 inch shaft and the Briggs had a 7/8 shaft. I picked up a 1 inch boss. The boss wouldn't fit in the boss space on the blade carrier. The carrier has 4 upright fins designed for blowing the clippings into the catcher I imagine. I had to trim 3 mm off each fin to accomodate the larger boss.

I then realised the height adjustment bar that runs front to back fouled on the Hondas carby linkages. These motors usually run on larger bases so the 18 inch base of the Viking is a bit narrow. I fabricated a new one with a deflection in it to allow for the wider engine. I had to weld the drop to the front and rear welds as I could not bend this 5mm bar without a press.

Finally I had to modify the PTO key with a borrowed Dremel ( great tool that I need to add to the birthday list) to make it slightly narrower. Worked a charm and perfect snug fit.

Original height adjuster which fouled the carby linkages


My custom creation which cleared all nicely


My dodgey welding


Linkages with some room to move


Finished product


I didn't get any shots of my work on the keyway or the modifying of the blade carrier. All up it runs nicely. It seems to be a heavier motor than the Briggs it replaced. I will be putting it to task on some heavy grass in the next week.