So. After 14 years of running a GMC mower with a Briggs and Stratton mower I decided it was time to purchase a new one. This old GMC has been trashed to hell, left out in the rain for years, only serviced once and it is still going.
I wanted quality as I do some part time mowing as a side gig.
I was initially going for the Honda HRU19M2 Buffalo Premium Lawn Mower but then decided to pay an extra couple of hundred bucks for the Honda HRU196 Buffalo Pro Engine Brake as the warranty is better for a contractor.
I find the 196 too heavy and underpow...Read more

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...Read more

I purchased a new Honda mower about 18 months ago , thinking it would be a great product - which is often used by professional tradesmen. Boy was I wrong ! It turned out to be the worst mower I have ever owned. With the narrow Shute it was constantly getting blocked , then not picking up the grass. I agree I let my lawns grow a little long at times and some times the lawn is damp - but this is no excuse for the mower getting blocked at the rear chute every 2 minutes.

I was so sick of this problem , I recently traded it after only 18 mo...Read more

I bought a Honda Mower thinking I was getting a top quality product that professionals used.
For a couple of years I have mowed my lawn, the catcher rarely has grass in it as the chute clogs and the mower just spays cut grass all over the lawn.
Extremely angry that I have paid double what other mowers cost to buy something has a major fault in design, I didn't know this until I read reviews that others have left to say they too were having the same issues.
Avoid buying when mowers half the price would do a better job.
The one good feature o...Read more

I wish I had done some research before buying this lawnmower. Where do I start.
1. I bought it because it was "commerical grade" thinking that would mean high quality. The engine seems underpowered to me but that is the least of it's problems. I cannot see how someone could use this mower if they had a mowing business.
2. The chute is too small. Way too small. It is also very poorly designed. I can see Honda have said there is no issue with it... but believe me there is. As an Engineer myself I can see straight that the design is e...Read more

I had an old Honda commercial mower I'm a mowing contractor the guys affectionately called her Ronda this thing was unbreakable it had 2 decks replaced as the guys were so rough with it they kept snapping its base it was thrown onto the back of a ute 4 days a week and did no less than 3 lagans of 200 mill + a day TOP machine then I bought the new one well were do I start
1) So heavy we cant lift it onto the back of the ute regularly
2) it mulches like a champ once you work out how to get the plug in
3) throw away the catcher tho it...Read more

I am a contracter and have been for 10 years.. Always used victa and masport, tried an old Honda once and it failed with low power & extremely heavy.. so after a long time thought I would try the range with blade brake, my knees where hurting at the end of the first day.. Still way too heavy.. First job clutch on the blade brake started to slip.. I was shocked.. 2 inch high grass made this mower fail.. Couldn't believe it..

I ended up removing 2 blades to reduce resistance in thick grass and it cut better but wouldn't mulch or catch very we...Read more

This mower is truly terrible. At the very slightest hint of moisture in the lawn, it simply blocks up and you need to stop mowing and clear the blockage. This gives you another 5 seconds of mowing before it happens again.

The little amount of cut lawn that does make it into the bag simply falls out onto the ground once the bag is separated from the mower because of the bag design.

I have seen the responses on other reviews from Honda celebrating the introduction of the Heritage mower that apparently doesn't have these faults. The only pro...Read more

On looking at mowers I first saw a Honda advertised for 599 or 699. I thought wow a Honda thats not too expensive. However I discovered the GC engines on the cheaper Hondas have a plastic cam shaft! (look it up on Youtube) Yep you get what you pay for in this instance. I had 2 Honda powered generators, both powered by GX engines and never missed a beat. So upon learning about the plastic inside the GC engines I chose this one because its got the old school GX engine in the Long Rang version. My lawn was 2 feet high in some parts when it arrived...Read more

I gave up using my 196 - having to stop so frequently to unclog the chute meant I was taking longer to mow each yard than I should, therefore losing valuable work time. I bought a $300 Makita that does as good a job cutting, without the clogging issue. I can buy and throw out 4 of these before I spend what I have on the 196.
The repeated comment from Marketing Dept about wet or long grass doesn't make sense to me. A commercial grade mower should be able to withstand whatever is thrown at it - not just lawns that lie within a 'regular mainten...Read more