Honda HRR216 Lawn Mower

by Rusty
(Louisville KY)

Blade Brake Clutch known as BBC for short. That's the reason I buy Honda mowers. Release the safety bail and the blade stops turning but the engine continues to run. That's the way a mower should be. Kids toys, lawn adornments, bag emptying and all the other things that require a temporary halt of mowing operations won't make me restart the mower to resume. It's running and ready to go soon as I pull back the bail handle. I've been using that feature since my first Honda in 1992 with my HR216SMA. After 17 years, it gave up the ghost so I've replaced it with a 2009 model HRR216.

Then there's the Honda warranty. 3 years standard. If you'd bought before May 31 of 2009, they added another year. 4 year warranty. That's good. I bought from my local Honda mower dealer for the same price as Home Depot but since I bought from the dealer, he will provide a loaner mower while mine's in the shop if it needs warranty work.

The Honda self-propulsion mechanism is truly functional. Other brands don't come close.

Cheapest self-propelled mower I could find was $320. This Honda HRR216 cost me $500. For the extra $200 I got: (1) Blade Brake Clutch, (2) self-propulsion that's reliable, (3) local dealer with parts on hand when I need them, (4) a 4 year warranty. It's worth the extra money to me.