Honda Buffalo Classic HRU196M1 (L/R, Blade Brake)

I have a lawn and garden care business,

brought 2 of these mowers and have changed the oil 1 time in the space of 3 years.

Still running like brand new

I had similar issues as others I have had with the poor quality of catching grass, but I did the following which improved the mowers performance. 1) I had the dealer lift the revs by about 10% after warranty expired. 2) I am in Darwin where there is a wet and dry season and only use a wet weather Dacron bag in the wet season as it has no plastic bottom or top cover and the flow of air through the catcher helped pick up wet grass. 3) Make sure that 4 Hi Lift blades in good condition are installed. All the above fixed my issues so I am okay with using this mower now.

It's a utter complete crap mower the throttle keeps slipping the handle bars were twisted, I rang the dealership up they said that there will be someone up hmmm..still waiting

Love all things Honda, bikes, generators, outboards etc, live in tropical north Qld where grass can grow an inch overnight. Lightweight to use as ADVERTISED by Honda, FALSE, VERY HEAVY, could not buy this model in Qld so on Hondas advertising as lightweight to use (Total Lies) purchased from interstate with an extra $300 au shipping charge added on. Are you a Roman Greco Wrestler???well you need to be to use this so called lightweight to use mower. Almost 40 kilos dry( Hondas true figures) and up to 48- 50 kilos to push with full catcher, trust...

I bought this Honda Commercial mower about 6 months ago as I wanted a quality mower that would last and get the job done. The mower has been great. It starts first time and gets through most tough grass, however the catcher (hard plastic Australian model) now will just fall off when you are in the middle of mowing and you almost fall over it when it drops off as there are only two small plastic bits that hold the catcher on. This is very very very frustrating when you are in the middle of mowing the lawn and have to stop continuously as the cat...

OK worst part of this mower is $1300 price tag but its worth it!

Excellent mower that starts with little effort and gives a great result!

not had any issues with out honda gear (Mower, whipper snipper, fire pump and generator) all start first go!
Without a doubt people have issues but doubt they would be huge!!!

Only thing is the mower is much much louder than my old Victa Sport with the Fiat engine (Tecumseh motor).
Suggest Hearing protection or deafen yourself with the iPod.
...

Absolute rubbish. Bought this one online and had it delivered. Too heavy!
Automatic choke sticks and it won’t start after using for a while. Have to remove the filter and use a screwdriver to poke in it to open it and get it going again.
Can’t adjust the throttle.

I find it harder to start than our last lawnmower, l can start it but need to position it so l don’t need to hold and pull at the same time.
I’m a small female don’t think men would have my problems.
But still needs more than one pull to start, l find it temperamental.

Very happy with its ability to catch the grass.
I made a thingy magigy to hold the bar up so it doesn’t turn the motor off every time l can’t hold it down.
Might be a safety feature but very annoying.
The large nut thing to stop the handle folding keeps coming undone.

Not sure if l would buy it again, it came recommend by the lawn mowing man an l trusted his judgment.

I purchased a new Honda Buffalo Pro push lawnmower with the Blade Brake Clutch system and the commercial GXV160 engine.It’s an amazing lawnmower and the commercial engine is rock solid, extremely well built for longevity and so quiet and powerful enough to do my lawns at home with ease.And it has a safety guard bolted over the carby linkages for extra protection and a lot of great features such as the larger surface area air filter and it’s a well built lawnmower!My main concerns are it’s enormous weight and I have to empty the plastic catcher...

Following my purchase 2 years ago I was initially disappointed with the small chute and associated clogging when mowing damp grass. I opted for the Honda as I wanted power to do just that. After working with the agent we fitted the Honda with the two standard mulch blades and two additional high lift blades which made a world of difference. We made a slight rpm increase also. Overall I'm very happy with how it performs and am enjoying my mowing. The weight creating significant tracks when mowing damp ground would be my only negative feedback. Largely a great engine and the blade break system does work well for me having to regularly negotiate obstacles.

I've been mowing commercially for the past 5 years with a HRU19 buck I bought new, it always started first pull and was a good piece of kit. Upgraded to the 196 and just got home from my first day's work with it out in the field across 4 different jobs. So how is it? Good, but heavy!

This thing's a little harder to push around, weighing in at 44kgs it's 10kgs up from my old buck. The mower is solid as all hell. I bought it for it's everlasting reputation

It's tough, trustworthy, looks cool and cuts well (thankful I don't have the small chute...

This mower was purchased as an additional mower as we needed to try and transport our original mower to to in-laws house every week and this was getting to be a problem. We have had it over 18 months now and it has not missed a beat. Starts most times first pull if not on the second. The blade brake is a great safety feature. servicing has not been a problem. We change the Air Filter regularly as the area mowed is usually quit dusty. We only fill it up at the start of the day as It seems to run forever on a tank of fuel.. The only down side is the catcher is a bit difficult to empty when it is full to the max. Saying that it picks up every blade of grass. In the wet it it probably picks up 95% of what is cut.

The catcher is bad enough to put you into a fit of rage. Won't throw all the way to the back, only ever half fills, even after cleaning the screen.
Love the mower, hate the catcher. My advice would be to spend the extra for the next model, or look at another brand.

This was a replacement for my 32 year old Suzuki Two Stroke. Another legendary mower but the Honda starts first time everytime. I use the mulching plug so that I dont need the catcher. Its so good that I almost enjoy mowing which I never did with the old mower. A fantastic product

I have had this mower 4 years, its been good to use. It starts fast time its never let me down and its always been easy to start. Its never run out of fuel because it takes a lot of fuel I can mow a big lawn with it easy.