OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Other Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers I have a decision to make on a NEW mower

As i only fix Mowers but dont use them (currently use a victa mayfair 2 stroke) i am looking to purchase a brand new mower.
I have 2 choices:
John deere JS38
OR
Honda HRU19m1
I will be using mulch and catch (mulch lawn every 2 weeks or so OR catch if its too long then mulch the rest)
Have had heard good and bad things about both
Can get the honda for $689
John deere for $450
have a budget of $700

Jarryd, you are probably aware of these points and more, but I'll just make a couple of short comments on the design of the mowers - I haven't used either of them.

First, according to the specifications the JD has a bar blade. I've tried a bar blade mower, and I don't intend ever to even try one again. It cut poorly, filled the catcher poorly, and by the time I got it, had damaged its base pretty severely by throwing rocks at itself. Also, every ex-contractor bar blade Honda I've owned and examined had a sheared blade-drive key (for obvious reasons).

Second, the Honda you are considering has an overhead camshaft "residential" engine rather than the overhead valve "commercial" engine. This is OK if you won't wear it out, and you don't mind possibly having to do a simple retiming job occasionally if the rubber belt driving the camshaft jumps teeth.

I've read an isolated report suggesting that the JD may have a smallish grass chute and as a result may handle long or wet grass poorly. If true, this is a significant annoyance to the operator.

More importantly, my experience has been that it's difficult to know how you'll find a mower until you try it out, preferably under unfavourable weather and grass conditions. I have a tendency to select mowers based on specifications and physical inspection of robustness and features. Then I find after some use of them that I've overlooked some more important features that were a bit harder to evaluate just by looking. I'll give an example. My main mower is a 1980s Honda HR194, which I have converted to 4 swing-back blades. I love the thing, it's robust, durable, and feels like a Rolls Royce, especially when you work on it: everything bolts together, no click-ins, no drive-on wheel retainers, no dumb single-lever height adjustment that destroys the base's left front axle mounting. However I also have a Honda HRU195 from about 2005. I can't love the thing, because it has Honda Australia's tin-pot base design, and already needs a new base. However it is lighter, quieter, more powerful, and above all, it cuts long wet grass vastly better. It's like comparing driving a heavy diesel manual-transmission 4WD with a modern Commodore: when I drive a 4WD I feel proud of myself for doing something difficult and doing it well. When I drive a Commodore I just relax and think about something else. And having said all that, I use my old HR194 every week, and only use my HRU195 if the grass is wet - it gets fired up about once a year.

So, I suspect that however much reading you do, you won't know if you will be happy with a mower until you try it a couple of times.

So id say the Honda is my best bet.
im more biased on looks and specs rather than die hard specs.
I have a Victa mayfair which i intend to use temporarily rather than n a regular basis because it likes to drink fuel!!!

I don't discuss 2 stroke Victas, simply because I despise the engines in all of them as examples of low-grade agricultural engineering, with the PowerTorque the worst of all.

In this case both of the mowers you are looking at are from major, well-regarded manufacturers. Either of them should do a decent job, but so will a 1970s Victa as long as it is a 4 stroke in good condition. If, as you said, getting a good-looking mower is important to you, it should be easy to make your selection.

I used to have a Greenfield with Honda engine & it was very reliable. The cutting deck is the thickest I've seen. This was model 2006. Greenfield only does B&G engine now, but I think the construction is the same.
Also the engine I had was made in Japan, I think the new ones are made in Thailand. Should be similar in reliability but sometimes country of origin may have bearing on the quality due to poorer quality control.
I gave mine to nephew because I've moved to Rover 45 cylinder mower.

Seeing as i like a lush lawn ill go the honda as their mulching its far better than the JD.

lovemygreen, the Honda Jarryd is interested in has a GCV135 engine. My record of where each Honda model had been made up to 2010 shows Japan as the sole source of that engine. I don't admire the design of the GCV engines, but I have no issues with their build quality.

Jarryd, mulching quality sounds like a good mower selection criterion. Seems as if you have found a solution.

Also was looking at the Victa Mustang Mulch & Catch with Honda GCV160 Motor

Hi Jarryd, I have a few hondas including the gcv 160 on the mustang victa base and it's a good engine apart from a small timing issue as Grumpy mentioned earlier . It has a timing belt that sometimes jumps a few teeth but once corrected it shouldn't happen for a while. The alloy victa base is one of the better ones of victa and is a good mulch or catch and a nice light mower to use. I personally prefer over head valve (OHV) the ohv is much better quality with much more stamina and on a honda base it will last forever if looked after.



Hondas r good stuff,cheers

Those are good-looking mowers, roebuck. The one second from the right looks like a 21" self-propelled with the 4 hp engine, which would be an unusual choice I'd have thought. My favourite engine, but there has to be a limit to what 4 hp can do, especially on hills. I think the other 4 hp, second from the left, would be my choice, but the 5 hp on the far left is probably the nicest to mow with. Now, if it just had a foam pre-filter ...

The 21"self-propelled (hru 214 /gxv120)second from right, I picked up for $50 and boss has made it hers. It has a mulching plug a soft catcher and a tin grass box that fits like a catcher but it throws the grass to the left and does a nice job. On the far left (hru 195/gxv140) and your spot on it is the best to mow with, very quiet and smooth. The (hru194/gxv120) second from left was the last one I worked on and does a very nice job. They all leave the grass looking good ,even the (hru196/gxv160) on far right but its a work tank and a bit more effort to push around.
Grumpy, I'm sure I put a new pre-filter in the gxv140 ,I'll have a look .cheers.

That GXV140 air cleaner is the same as mine (there have been two designs, the side-mount and the top-mount), but I've never seen that sheet of foam between the filter and the housing. I'd better take another look - if I can put one in, that engine's last bad feature (apart from the plastic camshaft) will disappear. Well, I don't like the starter either - compared with the GXV120 and GXV160 starters, it's a bit tin-pot.

At $50 for that HRU214 self-propelled, you seem to have bought the bargain of the year roebuck. Last week I bought a bare engine from an HR214 self-propelled (early version of the same mower) for $20, and ended up having to throw away all of the major parts due to terminal wear. I got the bits I needed (complete air cleaner, throttle links, carburetor insulator, fuel cap, fuel filler-neck grommet) plus a carburetor and an ignition module for spares, but everything else went in the garbage. I'd been trying to find an air cleaner for a long time, and got desperate.

I don't like the GXV160 much - according to the manual it's 3 kg (26%) heavier than the GXV140 and only has 0.5 hp more power. No Honda mower engine is light, but another 3 kg is just what they didn't need (especially when you're lifting one onto the bench). I understand the GXV160 only began to sell in meaningful numbers after the GXV140 went out of production, which according to Wikipedia, happened in 2001:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Honda_engines

Another Option, Supaswift 777 KMC
Not a bad looking mower although ideally id rather go for a honda due to longevity

Husqvarna lc48 SP

In my opinion, honda is a good looking mower along with being able to get parts pretty easy compared to others and have a top resale ( I can't part with mine old or new) with regular maintenance they shouldn't give you any trouble. I have seen the husqvarna at the local honda shop which have a pretty descent briggs & stratton on it . Not a bad looking mower if you like orange. Hope you make a good logical decision and good luck as this will save you heaps of $s down the road.

Also looking at masport president series

Personally, I would suggest the honda, in my own experience, parts are easier to get, and they just tend to being robust, able to handle a lot more than many competitors. In general, maintinence tends to be easier, and even major repairs tend to be less complicated, mainly due to less going wrong overall.

Although I must add that my experience with JD is limited, especially outside of ride on mowers.

In general, i highly reccomend Honda though, only placing Husqvarna above them, however in this case I beleive Husqvarna would exceed budget.

Husqvarna lc48 sp?

Oooh, i didnt realise husqy's were so affordable atm, there is a no of the on their site that fit your budget, many with Honda engines, a Honda powered Husqy would be a very good machine in my opinion!!!