My son just stumbled across reviews on this mower, boy what a pile of garbage they are, no wonder they have been discontinued. How Briggs have decided to trash the Victa name beggars belief when you read people talking about dumping them on the nature strip for the next hard rubbish collection. Unbelievable in this day and age that such rubbish can be dumped on the public. The number of comments by people that they would never buy another Victa should give Briggs a real wake up call.
Hi Max, Yes a $500 mower even Bunnings admitted that the carbys on these are problematic, the big beef that everybody seemed to have was that the blade bar (yes a useless blade bar, this is the Briggs influence, for some reason Americans are obsessed with these useless things) is set too high and you can only use them to cut down grass because if you try to cut a lawn as anybody wants their lawn cut they try and lower it with the height adjuster and this just drags the skirt on the ground and lifts the wheels off the ground and then they start blaming the lack of tread on the wheels for it not driving. Many have written to Briggs and Bunnings complaining but they get no reply. Shame on Briggs they have stepped to a new low. It is not like they have just come up with a new invention called a motor mower, that was achieved years ago and we know what works but they can't even get that right, all they had to do was build a better mower not go backwards. I get very angry when people get money stolen from them with not fit for purpose products
the big beef that everybody seemed to have was that the blade bar (yes a useless blade bar, this is the Briggs influence, for some reason Americans are obsessed with these useless things)
They're obsessed with profit and everything else, including their reputation comes a distant second and bar blades ate the cheapest to produce and Americans aren't accustomed to luxury features (which they shouldn't be regarded as) like a blade carrier with swing back blades. Now they are spreading here.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
You missed the point here MF, it isn't their reputation that is damaged, it is the Victa brand and Briggs couldn't care less about that, it is just an Australian name that means nothing to them
Americans are intensely centric people, nice but centric. Just look at their attempt to transfer American style democratic processes in the Middle East. They just never consider any culture but their own.
A Blunder has turned up on GriefBay with a starting price of $100. The ad doesn't mention how well it runs now, only that it was running fine when bought used in 2018.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF that about as bad as saying it was running fine when purchased new. But look at what we got for a president currently. The lies just fall out of his mouth everytime he opens it. What worst he can't even them straight.
Now I learned a new name eBay which I call RipBay Of course with Amazon is also now getting a rep cause by some disreputable vendors. Some are claiming parts are OEM when in fact they are aftermarkets.
And Norm it not the Victa brand that is suffering. Many brands across the spectrum are being cheapen in sake of profits. Equipment made just 15 yrs ago are twice as good used then some the newer equipment when they are new out the box when it comes to being durable.
I agree, brands like McCulloch, Homelite (and to a degree Poulan and Ryobi) used to make good machinery, now all they sell is badge engineering cheap and nasty half cranks that are palmed off through large store with no hope of any backup service.
The idle screw on the Homelite's and Ryobi are now packman tamperproof head for god sake.
But think, in 1975, a basic storebrand Victa Monaro cost somewhere around $150 - 190 (low arch v high arch) - thats $670 - $850 for a basic mower in todays money. Then if you went up to a VC Sports, Mustang or AutoDrive, you would be looking at a lot more coin.
That puts us square into Honda territory - well you would have to add a bit more because Honda are greedy b**tards. Still can't really match the longevity of a 2 stroke though, especially with a gcv.
The basic Victa (18 inch, cut catch) is now $399 ish - lot less money, lot less quality. Also, no one is content on making a reasonable amount of money any more, they just gouge as much as they can.
They posed the question on 6PR (WA equivalent of 3AW 2GB talkback) the other month "the best business advice you have received". One guy rang in and said something along the lines of "be a sheep shearer not a slaughterer - if you just shear, you can do it again and again."
Then there is a famous quote that I recently saw on a mower shop wall
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." John Ruskin
Holden should have dropped the Commodore badge at the end of Aus production instead of dragging it on for another 12 months on some European thing. I don't know anything about what they were like but apparently sales were low so it wasn't going to damage the brand. It is just another example of using an established well known brand and then trying to fool the public by dishing up a product that isn't what is expected of that brand. Mf, you can't blame the US for trying to change things in the Middle East. What has gone on in there hasn't worked for thousands of years so you can't blame them for trying to get some stability there if for no other reason so families can live in some sort of peace. It is probably never going to be achieved because for no other reasons than religious beliefs, and the fact they have been at war with each other for so long that they don't know any difference. And then you throw a bit of oil in the mix and that just complicates matters
Ok so I had a play with this one today, got rid of the insane bar blade, turned the boss so I could fit a round Victa blade carrier fitted what they class as 20 inch blades but I would have liked it better if they were a half inch longer. I was not going to cut down a couple of sets from the 24s just to fit on this awful mower. Hopefully this will make it at least half fit for purpose. Just for info, the bar blade I removed weighs a measely 802 grams (good one Briggs you clowns fitting this to a supposedly big mower) the Victa blade carrier including the blades weighs in at 2135 grams so this should take a lot of the load off the motor because of its increased spinning weight. Now to find some grass to test it on.
Hi BB, I probably had about 10 of them, I have been using them up recently I think I might only have one left, no idea how many oval ones here, just piles of them
The oval ones would work out also, and half the blades needed. I have one mulching disc that's been sitting half buried in the yard for years. I wonder if it's still viable.
The spinning mass may very well solve the running issues with the carburetor. Do the blades sit lower? Another issue possibly solved.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, I couldn't see a problem with the blade height on this one, it was sitting max half an inch inside the skirt, not sure what the problem is unless as my son suggested somebody has put the blade bar on upside down which I think is possible, only thing I can think of. The blades on the new carrier are sitting about 10mm above the skirt so should not be a problem. I will give it a test run tomorrow. Quite possibly will help with the carby problems as it smooths them out, same with the little Sprinters as well, gets rid of that fluttery feel you get with the lightweight bar blades. You can certainly feel the extra weight when starting it which is not a bad thing
If it's a success (looks fantastic under there), try one of the oval ones and see if there's a difference. I'm willing to bet there isn't as they are quite heavy too.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, I wouldn't say it looks fantastic under there I would say that it looks how it should have been built in the first place. How much more would it have cost Briggs ( what $10, big deal on a mower people were being slugged $500 for ) to build it this way and people would have got a much better mower and they would not have had to discontinue making them because they were so bad and complaints so high.
