For Ethanol-laced fuels, I use the blue super-concentrated Sta-Bil at 1 oz/10 gal. I put it in the 2-gal gas can (about 1/2 oz - a little too much doesn't matter) when I go to the gas station along with about 2 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil. I don't do anything special with the fuel when putting the mower away except close the fuel valve if so-equipped. The same holds for the last run in the fall. They always start right up in the spring and always run fine. The only thing I've ever heard about the old red Sta-Bil is that it could leave red flakes in the fuel system. They now have a re-formatted red for Ethanol fuels but I haven't tried it since I've had good results with the blue, and I like using less product with the super-concentrate. I do the same thing for my 2-cycle mix except maybe a little more MMO in addition to the regular mix oil. All engines love MMO, and you can take 4 oz of fuel, add 4 oz of MMO and have a great fogging mix for storage. Always use only 2-cycle mix for this in 2-cycles, never just the MMO and straight gas, although I have no doubt it would be fine if you did. No sense in taking any chances though.

I just purchased a 2013 Honda HRX217HZA a couple of weeks ago. It supplants a 2003 Toro 20033 SR push mower here, which still is in mint condition. After recent spine surgery, I decided to finally purchase a self-propelled mower! Here are my thoughts on the HRX217HZA which cost me $849, plus tax (high here in IL (9%) - at a local mower shop. - Versamow System... So far, I exclusively use it in the mulch position, as I always mulch here. This fall I will try it out in the partial mulch and partial discharge when the leaves begin to fall. I never bag, as I have no way to get rid of the clippings. The mower mulches very well on par with the Toro SR. - The 190cc engine starts immediately with either the recoil or electric start. NOTE: With the 2013 HRX217HZA, Honda eliminated the "wall wart" charger for the battery. The battery is now charged from the engine's electrical system when the mower is running. No engine surging is noted, either at partial or full throttle. However, I am using non-Ethanol gasoline provided by the selling dealer. I will see if any surging begins when I start using the 10% Ethanol gas sold at all gas stations in this area. I do use an additive called Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment - I find it superior to Sta-Bil. - Blade Brake... the blade brake feature is very nice, especially when you need to pick up something from the yard which was overlooked prior to mowing. I know this adds to the complexity of the mower, but it's a big plus for me. When the blade brake bail is pushed in which engages the blade, or more specifically, the blades, the mower's dBA noise level increases significantly. The HRX217 is definitely a louder mower than my Toro SR 20033 with the flat-head B&S 6.5HP Quantum engine. - Nexite Deck... The Nexite deck is very nice, and rugged, but it may be more sensitive to spilled gas, fluids, etc. than a cast aluminum or steel deck. This is not confirmed, but it is noted in the HXA's owner's manual. - Ball Bearing Wheels... This mower is heavy (102 lbs.), but I honestly can't tell much of a difference between this mower with the ball bearing wheels and the Toro with sleeve bearing wheels. Granted, the Toro is only 69 lbs., but when I drop the Clutch Bail on the Honda to either trim or go back and forth around obstacles, the Honda is not necessarily easy to maneuver - ball bearing wheels or not. Not that it's hard to maneuver per se, but simply more so than my Toro push mower. - Hydrostatic Drive... The Hydrostatic drive is wonderful in operation. I can set it to its lowest setting, and it will simply crawl at a snail's pace. I will never use it at its highest speed setting, as I don't enjoy jogging when I mow the lawn! It's very nice to be able to change the speed on the go, and when you want to disengage the drive, you simply drop the Clutch Bail. You can also "feather" the drive system by partially dropping the Clutch Bail similar to a single drive or variable drive system. As to potential cost-of-repair, yes, I expect the Hydrostatic drive to be most costly to maintain, and certainly to repair than other systems. I've heard stories here on this site of high repair bills on the Hydrostatic drive, so I am a bit concerned about this myself. I understand the Toro's Personal Pace (originally designed by Lawn-Boy), and the Snapper Disc design is more simple, and thus, less-costly to repair. - Honda Warranty... The HRX comes with a 5 year warranty, but since I purchased the mower on or before May 31, Honda added a Bonus 1 year, so it has a 6 year warranty. I've also read on this site where Honda can be quite picky about some warranty claims, thus this also concerns me a bit. I never had the need to test the Toro 5 year warranty on my 20033 SR, as it never had one single problem in the 10 years I've owned it. The only negatives I've discovered so far are as follows: - When mowing laterally across a slight rise or hill, the mower wants to slide sideways down the incline a bit. This is due to its weight. It's not a significant problem, but it does occur. - The HRX217 is a complex walk-behind mower... from its OHC 190cc engine with a belt-driven cam drive to its Hydrostatic drive, it's likely the most complex walk-behind mower available for residential use. Unlike the Toro 20033 SR with the "old" B&S flat head engine which has only required annual oil changes, annual air filter replacements, and annual spark plug replacements, plus a thorough cleaning after each use, the Honda's maintenance schedule "reads more like an automobile maintenance schedule." The dealer strongly urged me to consider annual check-ups at $69+ per service, and the owner's manual directly addresses this, such as checking the valve clearance on the OHC system, as well as checking the Hydrostatic drive. Thus, this mower will certainly be more costly to maintain than the Toro I own. During the 6 year warranty period, the dealer will pick up the mower and deliver it back to my house for no charge - other than the service fee of course. Just a thought to consider, as I doubt HD would do this for you. One of the benefits of buying from a locally-owned dealer is that they generally provide excellent service. redballoon - I hope this answers some of your questions. I know this is not the exact model you are considering, but I have tried to cover most questions on the mower's features.

How did it hook on? I have the same problem with mine, its a HRT216TDA, but it looks like I'm missing a pin or something to connect it. The cable itself is looped on the end and the base it just a foot-like area with a hole, I'm so lost! haha

I truely hope your for real about this but even if your not, nice work on getting me to waste my phone battery! I'm not old, 31, so I hope my contribution is useable. I cut my lawn in jeans with either a t-shirt when warmer/early season and add a hooded sweatshirt (50/50 ratio of pull over to zip up) when it's cooler/later in the season. A belt is also in use during and I like to wear my dark tinted stihl shades/eye protection too. To what I think your really looking for. I cut in rows that are parallel to my street, following the bends of the closest piece of concrete. This is side to side across the front off my home. The back and side yards are also cut in a manner which I feel is the most efficient/uses the least amount of strokes. I currently squire a Honda HRX217HXA across the lawn and employed a Honda HRT216TDA prior. I mulch my grass for a couple reasons and this is also why replaced my perfect HRT (5.5hp) with the HRX (6.5hp). My lawn is quite healthy as I use a company to apply federalizer/herbacide/etc as they recommend for my locale. Couple a healthy well fed lawn with a job that requies more hours than most, STL's randomly occurring and widely varied climate/weather, a wife, two pugs and most importantly, my 3yr old daughter and 5m old son, sometimes the grass don't get cut every week as I'd like. I have been forced to mow my 16" fescue/bluegrass at 8am Sunday morning after a solid 36+ hours of rainfall. I needed a mower that could mulch this and leave minimal residuals (green sludge trails). The HRX handily performs these duties and much more. I don't compost my clippings because a)that'd require me to bag, silly b)my lawn is getting herbicide applied and I want nothing to do with potentially dealing with residual product compromising my gardens tomato yield c) mulching is free food for my lawn and thatch, at least with my variety of grasses is not present. I store it I'm my garage. My fuel is treated with a stabilizer that is ethanol blended gasoline specific. My mower has a fuel shutoff valve so I close urbane run the mower till it dies every cutting. I then completely fill the gas, then blow it off with my backpack blower before parking till next week. In preperation of the off season, I put about 1/4 tank of my already stabilized fuel but also add an additional pour of stabilizer to the gas in the gas tank. I then run the mower completely out of fuel. Next is an Oil change which to this point has been with Rotalla 5-30 but I may switch to either Mobil 1 synthetic (what my cars get) or Amsoil. After that I pull the plug off and pull the cord till the engine is at TDC (piston closest to the top) and pour a bit oil in the combustion chamber. Lastly I re install the plug then cover old girl with a tarp till spring beckons. The only two things that I would change about my mower is the weight and the fuel consumption. Both of which are more than acceptable to me as unavoidable occurrences on a machine like mine and are not complaints in any way at all. Who wouldn't want their 101lb mower to be 75 or for it to use even less fuel? No one. It is not the least bit cumbersome for me to use as I have learned how to finesse it and allow its heft to work in my favor also I'm not the biggest dude but at 6'1" and 190 I'm no fly weight either. Just to recap here, I honestly feel Honda did all that was possible to them to keep my mower as light as possible but not lessen its durability. It has quite a few features all accessible standing upright without having to fully extend an arm from the handle like a throttle control lever that facilitates ideling to full throttle to choke/a 5mph-4mph self propulsion speed control lever, self propel engagement/disengagement bail and a blade brake control (roto-stop) bail. There's no way I can fathom a more intuitive, easily manipulates or long lasting control set up than what they have devised. If I missed anything or there's any other specifics that would help just let me know.