Honda Lawn Mowers

BIGDOGx · May 14

Idiots decided to stop making gas mowers and of course my 12 year old Honda took a dump on me this season. Searching for a new one i found that because of the crap state of California basically most manufactures have given up on gas power push mowers. Anything you will buy at a big box store today is trash, plastic transmissions and cheap flimsy cables, all made to fail within the first couple uses imo. That is proven by reviews, literally you have 0 choices today for a push mower unless you dip into commercial models.

So i was lucky enough to find one of the few remaining dealers that still had a few Honda gas mowers left and at MSRP price and brand new. I decided to say screw it and bought an HRC model, build quality on this thing is just unseen with most product you buy today, its nice to see a piece of equipment not intentional designed to fail like most things today.

txab · May 14

My primary walk mower is a 45 year old 2 cycle Lawn-Boy. Thing is still going strong. Self propelled. Think the deck is aluminum, maybe magnesium. Either way it weighs a ton less than the steel deck mowers. I did grab another gas 4 cycle last year just because it was a great deal. Kohler engine with spin on filter. The self propel on it is not as good as my Lawn Boy.

I've switched to battery line trimmer, hedge trimmer, and edger. Got a couple of battery chainsaws that are the bomb. If had a smaller yard and one that didn't sometimes get out of hand, I'd look harder at battery mower, but I know it would work for my situation

Edited May 14 by txab

BIGDOGx · May 18

The New Honda battery mowers cost 1,300 dollars! It comes with the lesser charger that takes 5-6 hours to charge the battery and only 1 battery, a second one which pretty much everyone would need unless your yard is like 40 sq ft, it will cost you another 600 dollars making it now a 1,900 dollar mower. If you want the better charger to charger said battery in 2 hours, you will need another 150 bucks putting it over 2 grand now and more expensive then every single commercial 21" on the market.

Watching Youtube clips of the battery mowers in action, in actual real conditions, they didn't do all that well. Battery's are good for most small engine items except leaf blowers, but they are far far away from making a viable mower imo. Heck every single dealer i had called or visited, refuse to carry the new electric Hondas.

KARNUT · May 18

My mower is the only yard, garden appliance I don’t have a battery powered replacement. I spent a lifetime listening to 2stroke powered yard equipment. It is rather annoying. I almost bought one when Home Depot had them on sale. Instead I bought a cub cadet. I wear earphones anyway.

Atlas · May 18

The tipping point for most people deciding whether to buy a walk-behind or a ride-on is 1/3-1/2 acre. The Honda mowers seem to be able to handle 3/8 to 1/2 acre just fine. Ego is a brand that's been doing electric mowers for a while and they also seem pretty good.

Only gas mowers under 25hp are "banned" for sale (new) in California. As is other small gas yard equipment. One wonders why the people who "hate" California continue to live there if it's so awful. I'll never understand when there are 49 other states in which to live.

I still have an older HRX with a composite deck. I didn't think it would last but it's doing great 7 years in. I still use it to mow some small areas I'd rather not take the riding mower (JD).

KARNUT · May 18

48 minutes ago, Atlas said:

The tipping point for most people deciding whether to buy a walk-behind or a ride-on is 1/3-1/2 acre. The Honda mowers seem to be able to handle 3/8 to 1/2 acre just fine. Ego is a brand that's been doing electric mowers for a while and they also seem pretty good.

Only gas mowers under 25hp are "banned" for sale (new) in California. As is other small gas yard equipment. One wonders why the people who "hate" California continue to live there if it's so awful. I'll never understand when there are 49 other states in which to live.

I still have an older HRX with a composite deck. I didn't think it would last but it's doing great 7 years in. I still use it to mow some small areas I'd rather not take the riding mower (JD).

Some people stay in California until retirement. Sell their house move to Texas. They buy a new house for half the money and live off the rest. Interesting what you learned on your daily walks.

Atlas · May 18

3 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

Some people stay in California until retirement. Sell their house move to Texas. They buy a new house for half the money and live off the rest. Interesting what you learned on your daily walks.

That is one way for folks who have come up short in retirement to bridge a gap or make their money go farther if they're still paying on a house, or need to afford healthcare.

Many people have relied on increases/growth in their real estate to help fund their retirements. People knock the cost of things in California, but on the flip side, those who have owned and invested heavily there sure have gained a lot of equity.

BIGDOGx · May 19

19 hours ago, KARNUT said:

My mower is the only yard, garden appliance I don’t have a battery powered replacement. I spent a lifetime listening to 2stroke powered yard equipment. It is rather annoying. I almost bought one when Home Depot had them on sale. Instead I bought a cub cadet. I wear earphones anyway.

I still much prefer my Stihl leaf blower to any battery operated one. Those things tear through battery's and the last thing i need during leaf season is working for 30-45 minutes then having to charge the battery up. Filling a tank with 2 stroke fuel and going for as long as i need is once again something electrics are not advanced enough to replace right now imo.

Electric mowers though are just not even worth discussing right now, performance and battery time are just issues they have not figured out yet with mowers. That and making everything out of plastic, most of these mowers all have plastic transmission housings that just will never in a million years hold up.

KARNUT · May 19

2 minutes ago, BIGDOGx said:

I still much prefer my Stihl leaf blower to any battery operated one. Those things tear through battery's and the last thing i need during leaf season is working for 30-45 minutes then having to charge the battery up. Filling a tank with 2 stroke fuel and going for as long as i need is once again something electrics are not advanced enough to replace right now imo.

Electric mowers though are just not even worth discussing right now, performance and battery time are just issues they have not figured out yet with mowers. That and making everything out of plastic, most of these mowers all have plastic transmission housings that just will never in a million years hold up.

I have enough battery powered yard tools that I would wear out before I run out of batteries. Now when I worked doing ROWs we used nothing but gas powered trimmers and chainsaws. I got tired of hearing the noise. My tractors were noisy even though they had cabs. My trucks had loud exhaust. I wanted to hear stuff work. High powered custom stereos, nothing but noise. Suddenly when I hit 60 I had enough. No loud mufflers, no noisy yard equipment. It’s amazing listening to music that isn’t loud with ears that aren’t beat to death from noise. My trip vehicles have sound deadening my life is serine. It’s amazing how you can go from one extreme to another.

newdude · May 19

There might be some stragglers left in stock at some stores with Honda power as well.

I know Toro used to offer Honda engines on some of their higher end walk-behinds last year, so might be some of those left around. Unfortunately they went all in on Briggs and Stratton power only for 2026.

Husqvarna also used them here and there but those are going to be harder to find left around.

I have zero faith in B&S anymore, that's for sure. Bought a Craftsman back in 2010(?) when my old Rally (made by the same people who did the older Craftsman, AYP Electrolux) rotted out too bad. That had a B&S Quantum 5hp and that was indestructible. The Craftsman I tried to replace it with wouldn't start within the 1st year of ownership. 2nd year it went to the curb. It had the Smart Start System they came out with around that time and what a joke. The only other good B&S I had was on my 2006 John Deere 115 which had a 19hp single cylinder.

Atlas · May 19

I stand corrected...my Honda is an HRR not an HRX. I went shopping for replacement parts last night after mowing the lawn yesterday afternoon. New Honda blades $40, not worth sharpening the old ones but will keep them around.

Nice that Honda still sells genuine replacement parts for their gas models. I've done a few tune-ups on the GCV or is it GC, can't remember -160 motor. Generally starts on the first or second pull if it's been run in the last week or two, runs great.

I have another Honda 160 in a pressure washer that I've kept going for ~16 years. The water pump (AAA) is starting to wear. Not sure what my next pressure washer will be, but the Honda/AAA combo was great.

BIGDOGx · May 19

39 minutes ago, newdude said:

There might be some stragglers left in stock at some stores with Honda power as well.

I know Toro used to offer Honda engines on some of their higher end walk-behinds last year, so might be some of those left around. Unfortunately they went all in on Briggs and Stratton power only for 2026.

Husqvarna also used them here and there but those are going to be harder to find left around.

I have zero faith in B&S anymore, that's for sure. Bought a Craftsman back in 2010(?) when my old Rally (made by the same people who did the older Craftsman, AYP Electrolux) rotted out too bad. That had a B&S Quantum 5hp and that was indestructible. The Craftsman I tried to replace it with wouldn't start within the 1st year of ownership. 2nd year it went to the curb. It had the Smart Start System they came out with around that time and what a joke. The only other good B&S I had was on my 2006 John Deere 115 which had a 19hp single cylinder.

Yeah i didn't want any part of B&S motor which is what led me on a wild goose chase to find a working Honda. Every available mower today uses that god forsaken engine too! I was lucky to get a used HRX pretty cheap that has blade stop which is a very nice feature, but the new commercial one is going to be my strictly mulcher mower.

Thinking about how i only use around 3 gallons of fuel for the entire season for cutting grass, why does anyone want to get battery powered mowers that would require constant recharging. Two 12mAh battery's needing to be charged 5-6 times per month is going to cost a hell of a lot more then 15 dollars worth of non ethanol fuel!

garagerog · May 22

Anybody remember tecumseh small gas engines? Although the company is still in business it's all in totally different product lines, maybe they couldn't compete with B & S and later Honda. Had an old mower at the ranch that had a tecumseh engine, had a rather interesting induction system. The carb air filter drew air from under the engine shroud so the rotating screen above the fan kept out the big stuff and my intial impression was kewl it's mini supercharged! Upon further reflection I'm sure that very hot engine air that it drew more than negated any mini "supercharger" effect. I wonder if tecumseh did dyno testing? Doubt it. Sold my 11 yr. old JD D130 last week, never had any trouble with the B&S 22 hp V-twin, but it didn't have many hours on it. I have no doubt that the V-twin would have outlasted 2 Hydrostatic transmissions however. Small yard, gave up the push mower when I started feeling it in my lower back, a few years later my back made weed whacking and edging a 2 day project so I said the hell with it all, I can afford the $70 every 2 weeks my neighbors son who has a landscaping business charges me, especially with the cash money after waving the Johnny Popper goodbye.

KARNUT · May 22

25 minutes ago, garagerog said:

Anybody remember tecumseh small gas engines? Although the company is still in business it's all in totally different product lines, maybe they couldn't compete with B & S and later Honda. Had an old mower at the ranch that had a tecumseh engine, had a rather interesting induction system. The carb air filter drew air from under the engine shroud so the rotating screen above the fan kept out the big stuff and my intial impression was kewl it's mini supercharged! Upon further reflection I'm sure that very hot engine air that it drew more than negated any mini "supercharger" effect. I wonder if tecumseh did dyno testing? Doubt it. Sold my 11 yr. old JD D130 last week, never had any trouble with the B&S 22 hp V-twin, but it didn't have many hours on it. I have no doubt that the V-twin would have outlasted 2 Hydrostatic transmissions however. Small yard, gave up the push mower when I started feeling it in my lower back, a few years later my back made weed whacking and edging a 2 day project so I said the hell with it all, I can afford the $70 every 2 weeks my neighbors son who has a landscaping business charges me, especially with the cash money after waving the Johnny Popper goodbye.

I had a mini bike with that engine years ago