Here is my Rover Heavy Duty slasher from the 1960s, which was actually called a "Rover Rider" in those days. This one mowed a primary school grounds for around 20-30 years. Operator at the time found it would clog in the front if grass or clover was thick and wet, so a local engineer extended the frame a bit which apparently stopped this problem from occurring. The engine was replaced by an almighty 10HP Honda G400 at some time in the past. It originally had an 8HP Kirby Tecumseh. Other models had 8HP Briggs and Stratton. I added the little fenders to the front just to dress it up a bit and for added safety. I am intending to paint it one of these days.
Battery and heat shields were a recent addition. Just push a button on the solenoid and away she goes, first try. You would really need that starter as it would take Hercules to pull it over. There is no stopping this brute. It will plough through grass over a foot high and throw it aside as if it was not even there. Two fuel tanks to go that extra distance!
I have two manuals for different Heavy Duty models from the 70s which I will post up shortly. I am still chasing a manual for the original "Rover Rider" (probably 1965-1969). It was so-called because it came with an optional sulky that you could sit on and get pulled along behind. I recently viewed one of these sulkies. It has a bend midway suggesting that someone might have been using it in the past and come to grief. Reversing and going over drains or across steep hills was a definite "No, no"! I am amazed that despite Rover having to encase the belts due to safety concerns around 1972, they were still advertising their pull behind sulkies up to at least 1979. I am hoping to purchase an original sulky soon and will show photos of it once it arrives and gets renovated. The sulky is missing its wheels, so I need two wheel hubs for it if anyone has them to spare? They were the same size hubs as used on the rear wheels of the HD slasher itself.
Hello vint_mow, is that the original type blade carrier? That's in the so ugly it's beautIful camp. Must be worth a lot now with the engine upgrade and electric start. Two fuel tanks? It's the Kenworth (or UD?) of grass cutting implements!!
What does NormK make of this animal?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi MF, Yes original blade carrier and blades. I had to shop around to find one. Finally came across a lone one still in stock at a Melbourne mower shop who shipped it up to me. I had to replace the central HT bolt and 4 carrier bolts at the same time, as the old ones were extremely rusty. They took some removing but I finally succeeded.
Beautiful piece of equipment there MF and vint_mow and as long as a machine does what it was designed to do you can't ask for much more. A belt guard would make me a bit happier, not like you are trying keep it original with all the modifications
Thanks Norm, It doesn't try to hide the fact it is very "utilitarian", and that is one of the things I like about it. I did get a belt cover made by a local engineer for that top pulley, but still haven't got around to fitting it.
Here are the two manuals. Judging by the numbers on the back, one was printed in 1975, the other in 1991. As I have said previously, I am still chasing a manual for the very early Rover Rider model. If anybody can supply one, please let us know.
We had a district hospital in the town I went to primary school in and the grounds were well maintained by the gardener, who in those days was on staff there.
He had a large Victa Imperial and that was fitted with a sulky. It looked like a tractor seat with two wheels and was attached to the big cylinder mower via a drawbar. I thought it was magnificent at the time and would try and get a closer look when it was parked in his workshop only to be shooed away.
Yes, they were pricey even for those times. I was surprised when I saw this add that Jack had posted on the forum.
I might be able to obtain a sulky. It is missing the two wheels but I should be able to find aftermarket ones to fit. The problem with Rover is they made their own special wheels which were very low profile compared to modern ones of the same size. Luckily you can still get the tyres and tubes, but the hubs are a problem. I require two if anyone has some to spare? Any wider than about 40mm and the locknut will not catch the thread on the end of the axle! I've thought about buying trolley wheels and taking the bearing out of the offset, then cutting back the offset and re-inserting the bearing.
I might be in luck. I looked at the sulky again today and the axle allows for a hub width of 50mm. So any modern day 6" gas cylinder trolley wheels should do the job nicely!
While looking at the sulky I found a very long number stamped into the underside. Obviously a part number.
Not sure what diameter rims suit but I just measured a front wheel of a colt major outside of bearing to outside of bearing and it is 35mm same as in your previous pic (tyre is 2.50 - 6) (bearing inside dia is 15.7mm approx) ( about 14 to 15mm from outer face of bearing to outside of rim). I have a couple here you are welcome to if they fit. Will need new tubes and tyres though.
Thanks Mich, Those wheels would make a perfect fit by the sounds of it. In fact now that I look up the parts manual for the Colt, I see they are in fact identical.
Two years later and I am only now getting around to doing some work on the Rover Heavy Duty. It has done a fair few hours work since then. The starter is getting sluggish and it is near impossible to turn over manually with the recoil, so instead of forking out over a hundred bucks for a new starter I think I will just put a new engine on it. The Honda G400 had always been too big for it, as it was mounted on a slant with the belts running crooked. Although they never ran off, I am sure the extra wear on the belts almost halves their life. I might put a cheap 7.5 HP on it. Give it a new coat of paint (the original older model was an industrial yellow, similar to a John Deere yellow, not blue!). Yellow up to about 1970-71, then blue. I am not sure if any of these Heavy Duty made it into Rover's "red era". Then fix up the sulky. Will post some pics once the job is complete.
The later models, probably by mid 70s, had different decals. I have not got the updated Caution label, but I do have the one for the flaps. On those models they put the stickers on the flaps and on the frame under the flaps, so 4 stickers, as opposed to just two on top of the flaps on the older models. It's not hard to see the way safety issues became more of a concern as time went by. Extra safety guards were put in place and additional warning labels.
Sizes of older model decals are approximately 5 cm X 4.3 cm (for the two caution labels) and 6.4 cm X 12.5 cm (for the two flap labels).
Size of later model decal (here attached) is approx. 15 cm X 3 cm.
It had the wrong sized motor on it when I got it Norm. A Honda G400. Far too big for the machine, such that it was only held on by 3 bolts and on an angle, so all the belts were running crooked. I had a lot of trouble with belts flying off, so had to use overtight belts which meant that the blades were still engaged even when the lever was at disengage position. It was a dodgy set up and that big engine had to go.
Something that is not widely known is that the earliest form of the Rover HD25 built around 1965 was called the Rover Rider. The name only seems to have lasted a few years before they changed the name to Heavy Duty. Despite the obvious safety risks, the jockey seat that could be pulled behind was never entirely phased out. From the outset it was treated as an optional extra. I do have one and it was banana shaped when I got it. Obviously someone had run it into a ditch and bent it out of shape. It took a neighbour with a sledgehammer followed by a trip to a local engineering works to straighten it out again. There is no way I would ride behind this thing unless 1) the ground is level and 2) I know the area to be mowed is free of any obstacles hiding in the grass. I am surprised that these seats were still being sold as an optional extra right up to the time Rover phased out the HD25. They were designed to be used with the largest "dogs" attached which drove directly off the wheels, so that was for high speed mowing.
The second thing not widely know is the paint colour. The earliest Rover Rider was a dark yellow, a bit like Caterpillar Yellow at a guess. I only realised my machine must have been repainted with a lighter shade of yellow at some point in time. It was not until I took off some parts that I could see the original paint colour still on the reverse side. I was thinking of repainting it John Deere Yellow, but am now wondering if that might be too light. I want to match the original as best as possible, so maybe Cat Yellow? Seems to be around about RGB (240, 162, 51) or RGB (255, 177, 53).
By the 1970s, the colour changed to the Royal blue hammertone paint. A height adjustment lever was installed which was far more convenient than the old method of having to manually adjust the height by removing the front wheel axles and re-attaching them to a series of incremental bolt holes. Additional belt covers were also installed. In the early 70s a basic small guard was placed over the main cutting pulley. By about 1975 this was extended to box in all of the exposed belts and pulleys on the drive and cutting deck.
I have seen photos of red painted HD25 slasher mowers, but am not sure if this suggests they made it into the 80s "red" era, or if those machines were just the older yellow or blue models that had been repainted. Red machines with the 1970s style front wheels are in existence, suggesting the changeover to red paint might have resulted from late 70s manufactured machines still being in stock in the early 80s. So these were painted red to coincide with the new decade. Alternatively, machines might have still been manufactured in the early 80s, up until about 1983 at a guess. If anybody knows for sure, please let me know, as it would be good to narrow down the exact time periods for the different paint colours used by Rover.
I notice BBT have a similar one on the market at present, with a B&S engine. Glossy red paint job, but also designed to get the job done. Bit pricey, but I guess you get what you pay for. Obviously a machine that will likely last as long as the old Rover HD25.
If this is the one you are talking about vint_mow a mate had a look at one and he said it was too tinny and flimsy to last too long https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_
Not getting anywhere with that link Norm, but yes it is the bright red BBT one. I've only gone by the photos so your mate's assessment of it might be very accurate.
Solved my potential problem with bumping the starter button while maneuvering around bushes etc. All that is needed is this spring-loaded button guard. The spring-loaded ones are the best. As soon as you let go of the starter button, the cover falls back over it. You can buy them fairly cheap if you shop around. Also good because they keep out dust, rain etc.
