@@PaulsPrimeCuts Whoooa...Where did you get that metal "boot" that prevents your mower from trashing around the trailer? It's brilliant. I usually tie it down with those tie downs with ratchets, but it takes a lot of time, especially when I have to tie it down like 10 times in a day. I get's frustrating, annoying and tiresome. It actually gave me an idea to make them myself, out of plywood. But Ii would probably use a pair for the front wheels... Like you said, transport is the worst enemy of the lawnmower longevity. Especially if you have some 20 yo kid working for you who doesn't give a rat's ass about my equipment, he just like calls me and says "hey boss, this and this got broken and we're gonna need new that and that.. Grrrrr.... But this system looks sturdy.
Paul, I like having individual wheel adjustments. Some lawns I have mowed, I had to adjust the wheels to help keep the grass cut as straight as possible. I have used Hondas most of my life! Great mowers that keep on getting better. The first Honda I used was an 86 HR214 SX, loved using it. The one I have currently is a 17 HRX217 VYAA with the GCV190. Runs great!!
"This is the mower you want to use when the weather is nice, which is for the next two weeks. After that, I just want to get out of the heat quickly, and that's when I use the Walker or the Bobcat."
I own this puppy for my small lawn care business and all that I can say about it is - this is THE BEST 21" walk behind mower on the market. Period. Although HRX217 isn't a commercial grade mower, I'd position it as a semi pro or semi commercial mower and the features that separate it from being a true commercial mower are the ones that make me love and enjoy this model more than any other I've tried. First is that awesome, awesome deck made out of some type of the space age plastic Honda calls Xenoy. And boy oh boy is it a game changer.. First its so strong and sturdy that you can't dent, chip or crack the damn thing. Next, it's light, and I mean noticeable lighter than any other steel/aluminum deck mower. And last but not the least, being made of this plastic material, the grass doesn't stick to it at all. Brilliant. Next thing I love about the HRX217 is the feature that you will get on any of their commercial mowers, and that is their Roto stop system. Basically a blade clutch that kills the blade without shutting down the engine. That is a perfect feature that prevents you from having to pull start the mower every time you stop to collect a piece of trash from the lawn or when you go to empty the bag from the clippings. There's more.. This Honda model has a revolutionary and propraitery technology that Honda invented and its called the Versamow. This systems allows you to switch your cutting options from mulching to bagging to back discharge with a pull of a lever. There's no need for those mulch plugs or chutes that open the deck for side discharge. I would probably loose or forget to take these additional stuff that is needed by any other mower in the business. (I think Toro has something similar on some of their models but not as efficient or practical as Versamow). In the end I would like to mention one more thing that raises this particular model of Honda above their heavier and more expensive commercial models.. The sucker has a 200 cc engine that is more powerful than the ones on their commercial models that usually sport a 170cc engine. Sure, those are commercial grade engines that will last longer than the GCV 200, but who cares? I've been moving with the former model that had 190 cc engine for years, without and major problems. I have no reason to doubt that thhis new 200 cc engine will be any different. As long as I'll be mowing lawns for money and will have the need for 21" walk behind mowers, HRX217 will be my choice, Period. There are 2 things that I don't like about it. First is the fact that the height adjustment is separate for every single wheel individually. Honda's engineers should install some kind of system that is still sturdy enough but that would allow you to adjust the height for every axle individually if not with a single lever for all 4 wheels.. The other thing that doesn't strike me as particularly well made are the handles. They are wobbly since they are attached to a deck in a single point from each side of the mower. This is a trait of residential mowers but I think Honda should engineer this with a 2 point attachment.. And that's about it... People, go out and buy this mower. You won't regret...
@@loislane4583 Hi, Mark here answering from the phone and as a different user.. To answer your question.. The deck has, and still is, holding just fine. Like I said in my first comment, a deck is made out of this incredibly sturdy type of plastic that Honda calls Xenoy and as far as my experience shows it's indestructible. No dents, chips or any other mechanical damage. And I assure you it was working it's ass of for the last 2,5.years. I'm 100% sure that if one buys this mower to mow his/her lawn, the machine will outlive any owner buying it today. I expect it to run a few more years without any major investments but unfortunately I doubt I'll be able to buy another one in a few years. Apparently Honda is exiting the small gas engine business and won't be making mowers anymore. The reasons are ecological since the governments will ban the sale of the small combustine engines within those few years.. California already instituted the ban on internal combustion engine driven machines like the mowers, weed whackers, blowers, etc...
Great info! I've been contiplating for 2 months whether or not to buy the hrx217vya mower for my 3/4 acre lawn, but finally decided to go ahead and order one thru Mowers At Jacks, since Wisconsin is out of this model now. Should have it in couple of weeks. Grass here has just started to turn green.
My HRR216 model starts first time, every time. Mulching is much better than the standard push mower. No complaints with the Honda, starts better than the Kawasaki engine in my John Deere. Like you said, the Honda will go where the Deere wont (to boldly go where no “riding mower” has gone before......) :)
I have used these mowers for years. I really like them I have noticed since they went to the 9" wheels the tread on the rear tires last a lot longer. I do have the one thats is one step above that one I think its the HRXK5HYAA It has the hydrostatic transmission but either one is a great mower.
I’ve got an older HRR Honda. It gets abused but usually works great. The wheel assembly is the weak point and the self propel cable gets stretched over time. I love the double blades. It doesn’t cut quite high enough for tall fescue in my opinion.
Just bought my 2nd one today (growing business) when I bought the 1st I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do vs toro but I'll buy again when I need a 3rd guy!
Got an HRX 217 a couple years older with the 190 motor. Mine has had an issue with wobbly wheels where it attaches to the deck like Paul said. Other than that no issues and leaves a beautiful cut.
Ive used mine commercially for 5 years already we use it twice a week and the days that yards are swapt its been extremely reliable until now it needs to go into the shop cuz the back wheels lock up hopefully its not my transmission cuz i have the hydro model thats $250 plus labor if thats the case i might parts ways with it and buy the $400 Honda which will be good enough but they are great mowers
@@FishFind3000 Both wheels lock up i took it to homedepot and to my surprise warranty covered the repair i needed a whole new transmission i was told by Honda
Thanks for the down to earth review. Just had my 1980s John Deere push mower take a shit on me :( i hate to replace old faithful but this honda is gonna work just fine i think.
I like the Honda but they are so heavy to maneuver around in tight spaces and my neighbor let me try his and I have a incline on the side of my house and it just spin the wheels so I purchase the Toro AWD personal pacer which weight just under 90 pounds and it just goes up that incline with ease .
I have that same mower and it mulches like no other mower. I put a checkmate striper behind it and it stripes pretty good. The mower is much lighter than my Toro Timemaster, which stripes way better.
I am having a hard time deciding between the Timemaster and a Honda HRX217HYA. I have 22” Recycler now that is 10 years old and love it, I have always wanted a Timemaster, but my yard is only 5,500 square feet so I am thinking it might be more of a pain in the ass to maneuver than a new Honda. Thoughts?
@@nickcase2635 Honda with no doubt. It blows my Timemaster away. I've had 6 - 7 " wet grass and used my Honda. No clumps at all. I was shocked. It's pricey but worth every penny. Good luck!
Any of your nexite decks staining Like mine did when dripping a little gas on it?I contacted Honda they said Im SOL. Pisses me off, brand new mower with Mily gray streaks where Gas touched it for a whopping 5 seconds. Great video, other than the staining, i love mine.
Dave B no more so than any other mower of this type in tall or wet grass.... it’s actually quite lite compared to a lot of the other mowers I have used
*I see these plastic decked hrx mowers on craigslist and offerup for sale cheap with cracked decks. I guess you have to be careful when mulching branches and sticks, I mulch shrub debris all the time with my old honda hrt steel decked mower and never have a problem.*
Hi Paul, I bought the HRX217 lawn mower and I like it except, I noticed when mulching leaves in the grass or driveway that this mower does not have the suction to pick up all the leaves. It misses some and shoots a lot of debris out the front right corner of the mower. It does help if I lower it, but I do not want to go lower that 2 1/2 inches. Have you noticed this?
Most mowers when mulching will shoot debris out … it’s very turbulent under a mulching mower deck. If you want it to suck stuff up go with the bagging set up
@@PaulsPrimeCuts , yes. I miss stated..sorry. I was bagging, and not mulching. But set at 2.5 inches, it was not picking up everything. Today I lowered it to 2 inches and it did a lot better, but thatf is very short. Other lawn mowers I had picked up much better. You have not noticed this?
Am I the only one that can’t stand the thumb self propel function? My thumbs are on fire by the end of the mow and it makes it impossible to maintain a consistent speed during turns, if at all. Also, when the bag gets even halfway full it’s extremely back heavy and lifts the front of the mower when propelling. Anyone?
apapknarf if you need to cover a larger area I guess the time master would be something to consider. I got an exmark commercial 30 when they first came out .... the guy I sold it to is still mad at me it was a terrible mower
Hey man fast question my Honda sucks it is terrible at mulching but is wondering at bagging any reasons why or suggestions as to what iam doing wrong man?
Jeffrey Lucas most 21 inch mowers are going to struggle to mulch very tall or wet grass ... only thing I can say is cut more often so you aren’t processing so much grass ... sharpen blades make sure the RPMs are high enough
