I have had a number of 216's over the past 11 years. They are a good mower, although I now do all my own repairs and that of my fellow contractors due to the poor knowledge of the service staff at selling/servicing dealers. Bent axles, broken gearboxes and low HP are all common problems with these mowers. In the latest generations, broken cables seem to be the new trend. This will be my last lot of HRU216's, I will be moving to a different brand. Warranties are often denied on broken parts, even when it's proven to be manufacturing faults. Sorry Honda, your day has passed.

After 15 years, my victa finally packed and decided to call it quits. Against my better judgement, I bought this lawnmower as Honda is a reputable mower brand. My lawn gets chewed and then mowed. It's not a clean cut and a nuisance. I dearly miss my victa and regret not purchasing a victa mower.

The deck wears out after about 18 months of daily use .A lot of our lawns are sandy and the constant sand blasting from the blades pits and eventually puts holes in deck .It's around $500 to $600 for a new deck including labour .Apparently this is more a W.A. problem. A stronger deck is needed.

Working as a contractor I use this machine. I'm quite happy with the cut and speed but find the gearbox is not reliable and often find it needs repairing after 6-12 months. Blades do wear quickly. At $1700 plus now for a new machine out might be time to find a more reliable alternative .

My 216 is up to around 700 lawns, pros: good engine life, good gearbox , 3 speed is an advantage. Cons: have now snapped drive cable blade engage cable, left hand handle bar nut always vibrates loose, it hates cooch lawns, had to bend govener spring to make it rev harder to get through most lawns , fabric catcher gets dirty quickly and blocks airflow not allowing grass to go into catcher. I think its pathetic to call it a commercial mower and not offer a commercial warranty! and I bought mine for au $1350 march 2014 they are $1750 now and I hear the price for exactly the same machine is going up to $1950 in the next month or so , far to expencive!! My next mower will be an after market model.

Mine came with the round I bought and is about 10 years old. I am impressed that it still starts first time but performance in the wet is poor (and as a contractor can't wait for sunnier days). It clogs up regularly (so what commercial mowers do have unobstructed chutes?). Length of the handle is a problem as is the lack of camlocks for folding the handle (takes forever each time it goes in or out of the van).

Bought 216m2 , starts 1st time, feels strong but its bloody heavy for someone who uses it daily, shute gets clogged a bit and the spring on the self propelled cable twists itself around and jams the self propelled to open occasionally.revs feel slightly low (around 2900-3000) and feels like at $1650 it could be a bit more powerful . Not sure Ive made the right choice but time will tell.

the gearbox in the new 216s are not tough as the old ones,the rear wheels wear to quicklythe cutting deck levels a diffrent,use 4 high lift blades you will find it will mow wet grass,the new bigger bags are a plus but perhaps there putting to much wieght on the gearbox.

Great mower but I have had three of these and found one if used in sandy based areas main housing wears out replacement 500 dollars and if u accidently use premium unleaded motor will over heat and seize another 600 dollars but cant find another to replace it so I stick to Honda till I find better
Great when working
Prob average25 hours a week have to change blades every 4 days which is costly and dealer says change oil weekly so it all adds up