I just bought a HYA this season. Used it twice so far. I'll tell you the specific reason why I bought the HYA - I wanted the blade stop system. I bag and I have kids (toys & rocks) and I have trees so being able to stop as needed without restarting was the primary goal. I'm still getting use to the mower so I have a tendency to not let go because I don't want to restart it (old habits) but its been a good mower. Surprised with the cruise control, I do end up adjusting the speed depending on where I'm mowing, slow down for trimming around landscaping and speed up for straight passes.

2 things bug me - the rear bag doesn't really close off completely at the top and blows stuff out the side and top onto the mower. The bag is under the bars whereas my old mower was more above the bars so I'm still trying to get used to emptying the bag.

I cut at setting 1.5 (1.25") and have had no problems with "suction" that many comment about. I haven't had any stragglers in the cut. I am keeping an eye out for the auto-choke system and the can't reverse issues.

 

Another question: Thoughts on HRX vs Toro Super Recycler?

 

The only reason I could see getting a Honda over the SR would be if I was planning to scalp AND bag. The SR isn't optimized for removing huge amounts of material via the bag.

The SR is better in every other way. My opinion.

 

I have the HYA and it's a beast, can't complain one bit. It can cut down to 3/4" where the deck can help it create such suction that it'll literally vacuum up your soil! That issue with the bag not being tight is really amplified then!
The highest height (3.5"?) doesn't do as well though and it leaves stragglers here & there... maybe a lift blade would help(?).
My choice for HYA vs VKA was the controls. I like to set the speed manually and adjust as needed, mostly because some of my hilly areas need to pull me up whereas the Select Drive needs you to be in constant drive control.

Edit: I also am not a fan of the double-bars for engaging the blades + cruise. My old cub had a blade bar and a commercial-style handle grip that made it soooo easy for one-handed control. These 2-bar setups require 2 hands if you want to engage the blades on the fly.

 

I have the HYA and it's a beast, can't complain one bit. It can cut down to 3/4" where the deck can help it create such suction that it'll literally vacuum up your soil! That issue with the bag not being tight is really amplified then!
The highest height (3.5"?) doesn't do as well though and it leaves stragglers here & there... maybe a lift blade would help(?).
My choice for HYA vs VKA was the controls. I like to set the speed manually and adjust as needed, mostly because some of my hilly areas need to pull me up whereas the Select Drive needs you to be in constant drive control.

Edit: I also am not a fan of the double-bars for engaging the blades + cruise. My old cub had a blade bar and a commercial-style handle grip that made it soooo easy for one-handed control. These 2-bar setups require 2 hands if you want to engage the blades on the fly.

talk about sucking up soil. At 1.25" it sucked a lot of the soil in my bare and fill areas. It left my new mower a mess because it blew out the top gap :evil: but the second mow was better and I hope the issue goes away as things fill in.

 

I have had the HRX217HYA for 3 years now and it is currently in the shop for excessive vibration. Supposedly, it needs a new blade clutch kit which is being covered under warranty. I'm thinking real seriously about going to pick up a new Toro SR this week. The personal pace system is much better than Honda's drive system. Also, the HRX bagging system tends to leak a lot of grass. I may keep the HRX just to bag and scalp.

 

I have had the HRX217HYA for 3 years now and it is currently in the shop for excessive vibration. Supposedly, it needs a new blade clutch kit which is being covered under warranty. I'm thinking real seriously about going to pick up a new Toro SR this week. The personal pace system is much better than Honda's drive system. Also, the HRX bagging system tends to leak a lot of grass. I may keep the HRX just to bag and scalp.

Kind of a dumb question but did the excessive vibration get worse over time or was it suddenly very bad? I noticed there was something vibrating on mine that made a tinny sound but couldn't pinpoint it but i guess i'll keep an eye on it.

 

I have had the HRX217HYA for 3 years now and it is currently in the shop for excessive vibration. Supposedly, it needs a new blade clutch kit which is being covered under warranty. I'm thinking real seriously about going to pick up a new Toro SR this week. The personal pace system is much better than Honda's drive system. Also, the HRX bagging system tends to leak a lot of grass. I may keep the HRX just to bag and scalp.

Kind of a dumb question but did the excessive vibration get worse over time or was it suddenly very bad? I noticed there was something vibrating on mine that made a tinny sound but couldn't pinpoint it but i guess i'll keep an eye on it.

It happened all of a sudden. It has been fine for the 3 years I have owned it but it happened within the last month. Also happens with or without the blades engaged. Vibration was so bad that gas would leak out of the gas cap when full.

 

My HRX has been flawless for 5 years. Wish it had blade control only for when I bag but that is rarely. I do all the maintenance as recommended. The only thing extra I had to do was a new drive belt because it was squealing no matter how it was adjusted. Im perfectly happy with it and if it ever craps out I'd buy another. Neighbor has a super recycler he hates so we switched mowers for a cut. He enjoyed my Honda over his Toro and I prefer the Honda. The no oil change thing for the Toro seems like nonsense to me.

 

bought HRX217HXA back in 2005 when i bought my house. Still have both.
Things I have replaced on the honda, from partstree or amazon or wherever on the web

• rope recoil thing, once
• press in wheel bearing on each wheel, like $1.40 each
• couple sets of blades over the years, because i wanted to, now I just resharpen the existing with my ken onion belt grinder
• the bearings on the engine output shaft, thats part of that roto stop system; was a p.i.t.a.; one of them started humming bad after ~15 years of use; also replaced the clutch disk assembly while i was at it although that didn't really need it
• i have a spare blade or throttle cable in waiting that will need replacing soon, along with drive and blade belts.
• i splurged last year... $200 or $300 for a spare hydrostatic trans to have on hand.
• also got a second carb, back in like 2010, was $16 at the time and could not pass it up; i've swapped carbs every so often when they become problematic to reduce downtime.

i bought 2 years ago the equivalent hrx217hya (hydrostatic trans) from mowersdirect, for a friend that i owed; it was a significant update to my model... slightly larger engine i think and little things (like gas or oil fill location).

but i will warn you the hrx 217 is not for the faint of heart for heavy maintenance, such as removing the hydrostatic trans and even carb removal is a little bit of a pain. But I like the performance of the hydrostatic trans as well as having an actual throttle and the ability to idle down and cut with slow moving blades when i need to in dusty conditions. And I think their dual blade thing works well, I always notice the difference versus using other single blade mowers. Although I can't speak for however the high end toro is. The honda engine has ran great, one spark plug change in 15 years of service, nearly always a one pull start. Mine has had no problem bagging. The plastic deck has held up just fine.

 

I have had the HRX217HYA for 3 years now and it is currently in the shop for excessive vibration. Supposedly, it needs a new blade clutch kit which is being covered under warranty. I'm thinking real seriously about going to pick up a new Toro SR this week. The personal pace system is much better than Honda's drive system. Also, the HRX bagging system tends to leak a lot of grass. I may keep the HRX just to bag and scalp.

Kind of a dumb question but did the excessive vibration get worse over time or was it suddenly very bad? I noticed there was something vibrating on mine that made a tinny sound but couldn't pinpoint it but i guess i'll keep an eye on it.

It happened all of a sudden. It has been fine for the 3 years I have owned it but it happened within the last month. Also happens with or without the blades engaged. Vibration was so bad that gas would leak out of the gas cap when full.

however many years ago, started mine up and it had a nice bearing hum... like a gm power steering whine if you know what that is. But it ran 100% fine the ~5 days prior when I cut the grass. And no significant extra vibration in my case, but I'm sure if I didn't replace it as fast as i did it would have gotten worse regarding vibration. So if you didn't hit a cast iron water meter pipe or something and bend the crank on the motor, it is likely the one or two bearing on the output shaft of the motor, on the mechanism that does the blade engagement. you can look up exploded parts views online for your model to identify those bearings, which is nothing over complicated. Exposed bearings like that don't last forever, they just need to be replaced.

 

Kind of a dumb question but did the excessive vibration get worse over time or was it suddenly very bad? I noticed there was something vibrating on mine that made a tinny sound but couldn't pinpoint it but i guess i'll keep an eye on it.

It happened all of a sudden. It has been fine for the 3 years I have owned it but it happened within the last month. Also happens with or without the blades engaged. Vibration was so bad that gas would leak out of the gas cap when full.

however many years ago, started mine up and it had a nice bearing hum... like a gm power steering whine if you know what that is. But it ran 100% fine the ~5 days prior when I cut the grass. And no significant extra vibration in my case, but I'm sure if I didn't replace it as fast as i did it would have gotten worse regarding vibration. So if you didn't hit a cast iron water meter pipe or something and bend the crank on the motor, it is likely the one or two bearing on the output shaft of the motor, on the mechanism that does the blade engagement. you can look up exploded parts views online for your model to identify those bearings, which is nothing over complicated. Exposed bearings like that don't last forever, they just need to be replaced.

thanks for the feedback. It has been at my local honda dealer for a month. They are replacing the blade clutch pack per the Honda engineers after verifying the crank wasn't bent which I knew it wasn't. I should get it back tomorrow hopefully. In the meantime I did pick up an older Toro SR4 from an older gentleman that was being stored. I'm giving the carb a good cleaning on it then going to test it out.

 

Has anyone thought about putting a weight kit on the front of these mowers? I can barely get half a bag full before the front gets too light and I have to dump it. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a large bag on the back unless you're doing leaf clean up. I'm thinking I might go get some steel or old mower blades and place them on the front of the deck.