OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Four Stroke Lawn Mower Frames Victa Decks /Frames

Hi all,
Look am a bit curious as to what is the go is with VICTA and their Decks looking more or less the same but with different names eg Vantage , Lawn Master etc . I have a Victa "Vantage" with a Briggs Sprint 375 on it ,



Now i saw on ebay a Victa "Lawn Master" that to me looks like the same deck but different wheels, catcher and handlebars . The motor looks more or less the same maybe a touch older or newer , again not too sure ,



to me i cannt see too much difference , maybe engine specs may be varied.
s this some thing that Victa does , keeps re naming old stock and flogging them off like other big corporations ?
thanks in advance for the feedback

P.S My mower in the photo , i had just mowed my lawns and before that a friends yard - 700 sq mtr block so it had a decent work out for the day , not yet cleaned the deck off from the grass and chaff motor was still warm

More or less they generally put new stickers on the range time to time and flog them off as new models, my place is 1480 square meters, generally I get the workout

seems so can you see the similarities between my mower and the one i found on ebay ? to me and most people its just the sticker, handlebar, wheels and catcher !!!!! cosmetic changes bet the deck has been massed produced and they wanted to flog em off , like old stock .

P.S can anybody gove me an idea on the age of my mower the VICTA "Vantage" - photos at top , thanks

You've already listed most of the differences, they use a different set of wheels, give it comfort grip bars, and a new sticker, and it's an entirely different mower.

You see the particular wording of the sticker has a major effect on overall performance and durability, infarct swapping the stickers over will change the way your mowers work!!! :P

Really it's just an easy way to create a large range of mowers at slightly different price brackets, the same budget mower gets some ball bearings in the wheels, an adjustable vent catcher, and comfort bars, and becomes mid range, slightly higher price, new name.

Then they give it a slightly different engine, and it's premium, add an extra piece of metal, and chuck in a mulch plug, and its premium mulching, and for the real top end, give it a nicer engine, on an alloy base.

Then they might give you one with ball wheels but flat handles, and call it a by-victa, ad you have yet another one.

Makes the customer feel like there's a great variety to chose form, and that you are walking away with something suited to you, while allowing a good level of market infiltration, and creating enough models to have many victa's per bunnings.

Then on top of that, there's the need to keep looking like they have something new, like the Mustang GTS of the mid 80's, it literally is a Vortex, but they had already been using the name Vortex for a while, and the old Mustang GTS looked a little different, so swap the stickers, and the Mustang has been reborn, and that old vortex thing has moved on!!!

Same guy, different coat.



Whats in a name??? To some nothing, to some if you can spark some sort of sentiment youve got a sale.
Names colours etc etc. Same with cars, colour and trim level, engine options. Spoiled for choice and suckered to spend.




As for the vantage at the top, the code on the engine (cowling) gives you the manufacture date of the motor, that will be close to the year of the mower. Id say maybe late 90's

The code on the engine is 0009195 , so 1995 ?
Type 2064 B1
does that help ?

Im not really one that needs the top end mower, its lawn, as long as it cuts it i dont really care . all i ask is that i have a reliable engine, solid deck and handle bars that wont collapse on me and a set of wheels that turn lol .
Only once i have really wanted either a self propelled or ride on as i had 2500 sq mtrs of lawn/grass to mow but now no need for it , just want a reliable mower that starts easy and yeah.

If you give us the whole long string of numbers from the cowl (all three groups, marked "Model", "Type", and "Code") we can tell you when it was made, and a few other things about it. I can't make any sense out of some of the numbers you've provided so far.

Grumpy is your numbers man.

For me to know what it is i need the head off. Its either a good one or a bad one.



Im the same, as long as it mows grass.
But i tell you, theres mowing grass and theres mowing grass.
Lawn is fine with a 3.5hp or there abouts, dont nice and regular. But if its a bit gnarly its surprising what a healthy 5hp mower will do. You can tame some wild stuff with one of them.


Cheers, Bob.

I'm going to throw a guess befor the numbers get put up and say 2001-02 it's one of the last of te American made ones.

A Code of 0009195 could mean 19 September 2000, but I'm not sure yet those numbers are correct as posted. I'd like to see the full string.

Here is the complete string on digits
Thanks all

Looks to me like you were on the money with 19 sep 2000 Grumpy!

Mr Davis thank you , Whats the last 2 numbers mean ? the 00091951

That overcomes my problems with the Code as originally posted: it was missing the last digit, and hence had the wrong number of digits to be valid. The last two numbers in the Code identify which plant, which production line, and I think which shift.

The engine is 9 cubic inches (148cc), ninth design generation, with a vertical crankshaft, Pulsa-Jet carburetor, plain main bearings, and a recoil starter.

thanks for all the reply's and answers . Not sure if anybody canhelp here , 1 last question , what sort of $ did these see for when they would have just hit the aussie market ?
Again thanks in advance:)

I think it was somwhere in the area of $300-$400, could not narrow it down more though.

YOUR KEY TO THE WORLD�S FINEST ENGINES
This chart explains the unique Briggs & Stratton numerical model designation system. It is possible to determine most of
the important mechanical features of the engine by merely knowing the model number. Here is how it works:
A. The first one or two digits indicate the approximate CUBIC INCH DISPLACEMENT.
B. The first digit after the displacement indicates the BASIC DESIGN SERIES, relating to
cylinder construction, ignition, general configuration, etc.
C. The second digit after the displacement indicates ORIENTATION OF CRANKSHAFT.
D. The third digit after the displacement indicates TYPE OF BEARINGS, and whether or not
the engine is equipped with REDUCTION GEAR or AUXILIARY DRIVE.

More info here on Page 4 Engine model, type and codes B & S
E. The last digit indicates the TYPE OF STARTER.

thanks for that , i have posted the URL for the official B & S document that tells all about the model, type and code on the engines , it shows all about the engine stumbled across it via Google lol I hope this can be of some help for you all for future reference