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...

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.

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.

Good mower to be honest.
Mines been back under warranty a few times for the governor shaft leaking oil out around the shaft. Know out of warranty and it's still leaking and they don't want to know about it. Disappointed to be honest.
Other than that hasn't let me down..

The mower cuts well - handles wet grass ok. I use this commercially, and bought as I still own the original version since 1986 ( which I also used commercially and now continues to do home duty-still starts 1st time).
The original is still going, and still cuts the grass at home, the new one I use commercially in paddocks and out in the bush around public infrastructure when growth is too heavy for a brushcutter (35cc 4 stroke honda - which can really smash!).
Pros - Reliable robust frame material clears the chute ok - same frame as the orig...

After owning Victa and Rover mowers, I bought this Honda mower brand new from a Honda Dealer about a year ago, and had used it quite a lot since then. This is a very heavy lawnmower (far heavier than a normal Victa or Rover push mower), and will give you an aerobic 'workout' when pushing it around the yard. It mulches the grass exceptionally well. It has a very powerful engine, and sounds great when you start it (a deep rumbling engine sound). Overall I have been happy with its performance. However, it does not cut long grass well, nor does it ...

We were about to sell our supposed great Honda top of the range mower cause it wouldn't pick up grass. Even dry grass. But I got new NON MULCH BLADES & yeah it now catches grass & even filled the catcher. Never has this happen before. Even from brand new. The dealer fitted new blades but they were mulching blades. Now fitted with low & high throw blades it works a treat. Finally a nice looking lawn

Mulching is amazing and cuts like a dream Whisper quite with punch. Compared to my old mower this makes me moist. I will have intimate dreams of this mower tonight. I'm going to file for divorce and marry my lawn mower. My heart lies deep with this one. XOXO gossip gorl
Update!! Height adjustment is flimsy and hard to manage. Poor design and enginge cut off is a pain i use a sttap to keep engine running. Other than that. Good machine

I had Masport lawn mower with a Honda Motor for over 10 years and decided to replace the mower and give the old mower to my son. Long story short we bought a new Honda Heritage lawn mower $1,100. The salesman (Rising Sun Honda in Townsville) said it will run better if you use 95 unleaded which we went and bought.
Got the mower home, followed the manual for starting and doesn't even want to give an indication that it wants to start. "Easy start" it said, I think not. I've read the manual to find out the 4 year warranty isn't worth the paper it'...

I replaced my 18 year old Victa with a Honda HRU196M1. At the time I thought I was buying a Honda product that was well designed. It seems that some kind of engineering focus group with no lawn mowing experience thought they new better and introduced some very ingenious design features.
1. It's very heavy
2. The starter cord is located on the handle bar and gets caught on every low bush. It also wears the cord out early
3. The throttle handle has no guard and gets caught on every low bush, turning the mower off.
4. The design of the mulchi...

I have had a Honda HRU 196D mower for the past 10 years or more and entirely satisfied. I have about 2 years ago bought the the more recent model with the fabric catch and all the additional bells and whistles, the engagement clutch and extraction exhaust running up the handle. I am no long a spring chicken and find the extra addition and the fabric catcher cumbersome. I originally gave my son the older model and have now repossessed the older model and gave him the newer one. The older model is still working fine and have been trying to pu...

My review is of the Honda HRU196 L/R (Long Range)
I bought this mower like many others, as a commercial grade unit for my lawn and garden maintenance business from Lake Outdoor Power Equipment, who, I might add, were good and thorough with the sale.
6 weeks in, my review is ready.
To keep this brief, I will list good and bad points

The engine:
Fantastic. Nice and smooth and quiet, A lot of people complain about the low RPM. Initially I did too but I realised I've never been in want of more power, even thought this mower came out of the f...

Im a commercial lawn mower. The shoot is just to narrow ,I have the newer model with a "slightly" wider opening and a silly metal lip on the catcher- gets in the way when u try to empty into bags. The new mulcher plug that is available is terrible to put in properly and very hard to remove.

It sounds like the older version were a great unit and the R & D guys screwed the mower. However i do like the blade brake even if i had to cable tie the yellow button down on the top of the handle. (that button is a silly idea)

I had a victa tornado which cut beautifully, decided to go with a "professional mower" when it was time for a new mower, so I brought a hru196 about 12 months ago.... worst purchase in my life, totally regret it. Its too heavy, clogs up all the time, I don't a partially full bag before it clogs up!!!! And it leaves "dags" of cut grass all over the lawn, which is pathetic and embarressing when your being paid to mow someone's lawn...first and last honda, I'll ever "beep" buy!!!! No joy from the dealer either, they just look at me like I'm doing something wrong!!!! Grrrrr!!!!

The mower is generally really good with a strong motor and efficient cutting. It works even in long grass. However the chute clogs up in no time and you end up tying the cover up which means you get grass cutting all over you when you mow.
After having used this mower for a long time, I realise the chute doens't clog up if the grass is properly dry but as I live in the tropics, the grass is almost always a bit wet.

Chute is a real problem. If you mowe wet grass you want another mower.

I bought one a couple of years ago (with a whipper snipper and blower) and its great for domestic lawns and some handyman jobs I do. Starts first go if you put Honda oil (or 10W-30) in the sump (not in the petrol). I put Victa 4-stroke oil in it and the engine turns over slowly and won't start in winter because the oil was too viscous. Some other minor problems require ongoing maintenance, like the rear catcher plate corroded out in the first year because wet grass stuck to it, and the rear safety rubber splits and needs replacing about once a ...

Ive had the HRU 216 for 4 years now.
I am not a professional gardener i just own a large over-grown property on a slope.
Overall i'm really impressed - mainly the engine, so quiet always starts easily and sounds like a helicopter when it idles. Build quality and transmission also flawless.
Only weak point (and sadly an important one, and confirmed by many other reviewers) is the outlet shute - on anything beyong the dryest shortest grass you can be certain of clogging. I no longer bother bagging - grass rarely enters the bag anyway, as it c...

purchased a new honda HRU 196M, M for mulcher, 19 inch cut push mower, i've had the mower for 10 months, mowing about 10 lawns per week as an gardening contractor, the mower is very good in the dry, as long as the grass is not very long, if long the grass clippings block the half size shute, and roll into a ball, nearly stalling the machine !! if the grass is slightly damp, the shute gets blocked up when the catcher is only half full.
the motor is very good, and it has a snorkel which is good when dusty, the machine is quite heavy and gave me ...