OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers What model is this Scott Bonnar?

hi there,

I'm new to the forum.

I have a opportunity to buy this reel mower but unsure if i still can can get the parts for it. For a start it looks old, no catcher and the chain/cluctch cover.

The engine is a honda gx160

and it will cost me $250 and the owner said it still run well. Is it worth it?

below is the a photo

thank you in advance

michael

Hi Michael, are you sure that is a Scott Bonnar? If it is, it should have a plate with a serial number that identifies the model, but I don't recognise it. It is obviously a rather serious mower. Can you post some more pictures please, showing more detail of the mechanical parts? I would like to see how much meat is left on the blades on the reel (how many times it can still be re-ground) - your picture is out of focus in that area. I would also like a low lateral shot of the inside of the chaincase so we can see what the condition of the sprockets is. A picture or two of the Honda engine might help us to guess what condition it is in.

Essentially, unless that mower were a rare and desirable model, I think $250 would be a fairly big ask on the east coast, but I'm conscious that reel mowers sell for much higher prices in Perth. To go into more detail, a new GX160 engine would be worth quite a bit more than is being asked for the mower, and the mower so far looks to be in relatively good condition. Furthermore whatever brand and model it is, that has been a top of the line mower, probably used for putting or bowling greens judging by the large number of blades on the reel. On the negative side, getting a grass box made for it will cost more than is being asked for the mower, even after you get detailed design information thus making it possible to manufacture one. Replacing the missing chaincase will be at least comparably expensive even if it is a simple one - if it had a cast aluminium chaincase it will be near enough to impossible.

Let's get more detailed information on the machine, and things will become clearer. Finding a source of genuine examples of the missing parts would make a big difference to the practicality of restoring the machine, and that requires identifying it.

thank you grumpy for your quick reply,

the owner msg the photos to my phone so im going to ask if he could email them to me instead (i doubt that he is bother but i will try).

over the phone he told me that the mower belong to his brother and he thinks it is a Scott Bonnar. I spend a good part of my life this morning to google Scott Bonnar and none of model even come close to the photo that the owner send me



the impossible bit above make me feel a little sad now..lol

i will try to dig a bit more from this stubborn mower's owner

regards
michael

You might try making a detailed comparison with the old Scott Bonnar Queen (Model 16) - see this thread:
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=37570#Post37570

I can't relate the details to your mower, a lot of easily recognisable covers seem to be missing from yours, but if by some miracle it is a Queen, you can probably get all the parts you need at realistic prices. There seems to be no market for Queens outside the bowls club greenkeepers, and they are tossing them out these days because of their extreme age (up to 60 years).

Hi Michaelperth, and a warm welcome to the forum. It's great to have you aboard.

Michael, the machine you are looking at is probably a late model petrol 'Queen' and would have most probably would have been used on golf links and sports grounds. Most, if not all bowling clubs use electric "Queen" mowers (because of mower vibration of the petrol) and contrary to getting rid of them, you will find a Scotty 'Queen' lurking in the back of virtually every bowling club greenskeepers shed....most equipped with a grooming reel or broom installed.

In my opinion unless the seller has the missing covers (especially the chain case) and the catcher, at that price, just 'Tell him he's dreamin' as you would pay over $200 just for the catcher alone, never mind the covers, which would be hard to source.

The mower is a Scott Bonnar Model 65. I guess these industrial type mowers were introduced in the late 1970s. Model 65 mowers bring this sort of money on ebay, but a catcher [$160 plus freight] is expensive and a replacement chain cover very hard to source. Perhaps the seller should locate the original cover.
Regards,
Grant.

In reference to the query about a Scott Bonnar Model 65. The mower pictured is a cheaper model without the cone clutches.
Regards,
Grant.

Thanks for that Grant, it clears up some questions I had about why the engine was so much further over to the right side than the Queen, and why I couldn't find attachment points for the various covers the Queen had and the Model 65 didn't. However I'm still wondering about the Honda engine. It is said to be a GX160, but Honda didn't make the GX series (pushrod overhead valve) until the 1980s AFAIK.

Aside from not having the cone clutches, the one Michael is considering has a lot more blades in the reel than the one in your pictures. Was this an original equipment option, or has the blade been switched for a finer-grass type?

Hi Grant, thanks for that info mate and for posting the pics. I have no photos or information on the Model 65 as it is not contained in your booklet (other than the reference in the model list) and the date it was introduced is not available.

The pics supplied to Michael are interesting in that it is both chain and belt driven and the design of the cutter unit appears to be very similar to the 'Ransomes' unit found on the Morrison Mower and Victa Imperial.
This machine also has a 10 blade reel; this suggests it was used in golf or sports club operation as the bowling clubs use a 16 blade cylinder reel (and also a 30" cutting width). This machine I think is a 24" mower.
Re the Honda engine, a lot of these machines were retro-fitted with different models by the users....I don't know what make or model was fitted originally, maybe in the manual you have there will tell us.

The belts look as if they are being used as clutches, in lieu of the missing cone clutches. You can see a movable idler in the top section of the double belt drive, and a mystery mechanism in the middle of the single belt drive - it is probably also a clutch. What we really need, though, is some decent pictures. The two we have look as if they were taken by an old phone camera with a well-thumbed lens. The composition isn't so great either.

Note that the mower in Grant's brochure pictures may also have a Honda engine - but it may be an older side valve one (G series) rather than a GX. It is, at a minimum, a different engine. Grant, do you know when SB stopped making the Model 65?

Hi grumpy, I spoke to Grant (willingworker) this morning to try and glean a little more info on the Model 65 Scotty and on the manufacturing details. Unfortunately, he only has a manual for that model and could give me no further info than I have already, which is scant.

On further research this morning, I have learned that after the Scott Bonnar business was taken over by Rover in 1980, that certain model 'industrial' mowers were discontinued. However, the Thebarton factory in South Australia did not close until 1983, so the Model 65 Scotty may have soldiered on till then. There is no reference to the 65 ever being manufactured by Rover.
Here a pic, not original colour scheme, but shows the covers. Note the chain case is not alloy but pressed steel.
and here's a link to a video;
Click HERE
Note also, on Michael's machine, the catcher attachment rails seem to be missing.
Not a good buy that one!

It would be OK for someone who wanted to use it in a jury-rigged condition with a roughly home-made catcher perhaps, but it is a bit expensive for that. Unless it can be connected with the missing parts, it can't become a classic mower again. Personally though, I think if it were put back together with the missing parts, it would then be an interesting and attractive mower. For home use, slipping belt clutches should be sufficiently durable to be acceptable, given that the belts are probably not difficult or expensive to replace.

Incidentally Wikipedia says the GX160 was introduced in 1991, so it can't be the original engine on that mower.

You're not going to believe this grumpy, but the complete manual for the Model 65, with heaps of info, is in the Scott Bonnar Parts and Manuals area. The original engine was Briggs....

I Know this thread is a little old now, but I have one of these mowers and yes its a model 65. I would love this one just for the spare parts myself but I agree the asking price is a bit keen.

The belts that are spoken of are for the cutter drive and are an interesting design and are super easy to adjust and they hang on like stink!

The clutch is a dry plate pressure type clutch plate, it is very similar to an early Harley clutch in its operating action in that its pressure plate is clamped by a series of coil springs. Its a really sturdy and strong unit and the added advantage is it can be slipped/fanned like a motor bike clutch in tight areas or if a gentle take off is required.

I have a very, very steep incline on the side of my lawn as it falls down to a foot path. The incline would be close to 60 Deg and raises to about 1.4m in about a length and a half of the mower.

I only have just enough room to swing the mower around to drive it back up once at the bottom and starting from the base of the hill the mower is already laying over to the rear before I can even engage the clutch.

The 5.5 briggs motor chugs like a loco under full load when the governor kicks in as the clutch bites when it runs up the hill and the clutch doesn't even look like slipping a bit, even with a full catcher of damp grass...

Definitely a heavy duty utility all round mower suited more to parks and the like but still provides a nice cut on kykuhu with the ten blades.

Ps your totally right Deejay the manual is in the library which I am very grateful for.