"Can I make this new mower faster by increasing the idle speed? Or are there any other easy speed enhancments?"

No, but we would need the model number or at least the drive type in order to give any suggestions.

Hello simonizer. What is the model number of your Honda commercial mower? Any luck with increasing the maximum ground speed or the idle speed?

Come on back with the info. Someone on this forum has the answer.

Good day.

Thanks nevada walrus.
You are the man. I have a Honda HRC216HXA purchased in 2004. Honda built the HRC216HXA "to go the distance" with any 21 inch mower out there on the turf. I am very satisfied with my HRC216HXA. My HRC is fast enuff for me. It is one heavy big boy and with proper maintenance I will pass it on to my grand children.

Good day.

With my short walrus legs about anything is fast for me to walk behind but the new model commercial is suppose to be faster then the old one. 4 mph compared to 3.5 I believe. There is a spec for marking out "X" amount of feet its supposed to travel in "X" seconds, I'll check and get that for anyone questioning the speed of their new model.

Hi nevada_walrus,
The trans stopped on my HRB215 mower. Is it worth fixing or should I just get a new one?

If its an internal trans failure on the HRB it has to be replaced, no parts available for the innards. Of course it could be a belt, pulley, control cable or other external caused problem which can be replaired.

Back to the commercial hydro, the service bulletin is "Lawn Mower #73". For anyone wanting to see if theirs is going the correct speed, mark out 30 foot. Set speed control to fast and make a running start at the first line. You should cover the 30 feet in 5.4 seconds or less.

The repair includes a new control lever on the trans requiring trans removal and a new control cable.

It's the tranny. I cut the belt and the mower is much quieter. I now have a push mower. I don't think replacing the $300 transmission replacement is worth it. Too bad, because the engine is perfect.

The trans is probably only around a hundred bucks, plus of course the belt, if you do the replacement yourself.

Where can I buy one for $100? Plano Power shows it at $165, my local dealer wants $300.

I could be wrong but get the entire model and serial numbers and I'll check the actual Honda price Monday.

Thanks!

HRB215 GB
MZBA-6243457
Honda Harmony 5HP with plastic deck

I thought "GB" sounded wrong but wanted to check first. There is no GB designation on U.S. sold models.

It's a HRB215SXA, the GB is stamped onto a metal plate on the deck in a blank silver area after the printed HRB. There is a sticker that reads SXA closer to the rear. Sorry for the confusion.

HRB215 SXA
MZBA-6243457
Honda Harmony 5HP with plastic deck

Here's what I found. Part # 06200-VF0-000.
Manufacture suggested list is indeed what Plano told you however.
Check your local dealers. I'll use the hsop I work for as an example. The boss marks up from cost, what costs him 100 bucks goes for 200. Most of the time this means a higher price then manufacture list. Here's the however and why i say check your local dealers. Our price is 112 bucks based on the same kind of mark up. So in this case the price is lower then suggested list.

Honda in general has a higher mark up figured for the dealer then most others so you may find your local Honda dealer does the same as where I work. And before you ask, no, we don't sell on line or mail order. You would have to go into the shop to order and buy from us and it would need to be ordered so unless you are spending 3 or 4 working days worth of vacation in Vegas you'll need to check your local guys.

Hi,

I have a Commercial Honda HRC 216 Hydro 21 inch mower. I havre not adjusted my mower. But if you look at the commercial equipment discussions web site, some "PRO" mower guys fix their machine to go faster.

This message was from that site. Good luck, you will probablly void your warranty though.

Best, Mike.

==================== SNIP ======================
If the HRC216 is a 2 speed, all you can do is raise the RPM's, I think the OEM specs is 3,200 RPM's. Going over this voids your warranty.

If it's a Hydro, make sure it's 3,200 RPM's & you can adjust your SP cable at the control lever, you adjust the cable housing further away from the lever or cable thus making the cable longer, this increases travel speed.

My personal unit is set between 3,400 & 3,600 RP M's, the SP cable is adjusted fairly far out, this is Unsafe, not recommended by the manufacture, it will void the warranty, causes excessive wear on the engine, I strongly suggest you do not do this because of it being unsafe, I can get away with it because I know the dangers of it & the mower flies on the grass just like all my commercial units did back in the day!

If you own $20,000 plus in equipment & don't own a $50 to $100 tach, you need to go buy one Today!

Mike, you can go to far and slow it down. The correct method is to open the bag door and move the plastic window on the left side out of the way. When operating the drive control you will see the lever on the trans move. This lever is forked on it top extension. The open area of this fork is to be aligned with a score mark on the trans.

Book specs say set speed change lever on handle to slow, engage clutch lever and check location of fork to the score mark. That open area of the fork is to be center to the score on trans. When moving speed control to fast it will move past the score and no alignment can be done that way.

I have found that often on the correct method that going a little past will increase speed but the barrel inside that rocks and changes fluid movement can go past center and actually slow down if you go to far.

Note:
This control arm on the trans and a new cable are what is replaced under the service bulletin for new models

Mike you are correct regarding warranty when over revving, on the drive anyway. The engine is fine to 3600 but you are in aunsafe condition according to the feds. The drive system however can be hurt by the over revving due to the slamming action when engaging the drive clutch. Probably won't hurt the hydro but the rachets outboard at the wheels can be harmed or worn much quicker.

I have a follow-up question regarding the "slow Honda Mower" issue. We have a 3 week old Masters series HR215HXA hydrostatic mower that is very slow at the highest speed setting. (My wife used it for the first time and asked if she would damage the mower by "pushing it along".) MY Question is: "Is the speed rating that Nevada_Walrus stated measured 1) on the grass or 2) on pavement?? On previously mowed, flat grass the reading for 30 feet is about 9 seconds, and on pavement about 6.4 seconds! The dealer claims NO problem with the mower, but you should not have to "push" a mower this expensive. Also can you indicate the service bulletins that apply to this problem?
Thank you for sharing your knowledge on this topic!

The service bulletin does not apply to the Masters series. It was an old line that has been out of production for over a year now. Funny thing was and what drew some complaints by commercial users was the masters hydro was always 4 mph which made it faster then the the commercial until this past years changes.

So you can use the same mark off and timing specs on the Masters, and it is suppose to be done on asphault or cement.

Nevada, Thanks for the feedback! There must be something wrong with this model as it does not reach 4 mph! The dealer indicated that the engine and shaft drive train on the Masters series is the same as the Commercial model, but the Masters is much lighter. The mower is a quality mower, but pushing a new self propelled machine is not right. We have a spare 20+ year old 2 cycle Toro mower that will out run this new Honda (by a quite a bit.) I have reviewed and printed all related input from this forum and will check each item for a solution!
Thanks again, Dan!

Make sure the speed control lever on the trans is set right. From earlier in this thread i wrote

"The correct method is to open the bag door and move the plastic window on the left side out of the way. When operating the drive control you will see the lever on the trans move. This lever is forked on it top extension. The open area of this fork is to be aligned with a score mark on the trans.
Specs say set speed change lever on handle to slow, engage clutch lever and check location of fork to the score mark. That open area of the fork is to be centered to the score on trans. When moving speed control to fast it will move past the score.

I have found that often on the correct method that going a little past will increase speed but the barrel inside that rocks and changes fluid movement can go past center and actually slow down if you go to far."

Nevada Walrus indicated that the mower should cover 30 feet in 5.4 seconds. Converting those numbers the mower seems to be set to run at 3.7mph. Not as fast as the 4mph we are used to, indeed it is 7% slower.

I read...somewhere...that commercial mowers were set to run a little slower because operators were behind them all day long. Myth or fact...I don't know. Maybe one of the mower pros could comment.

3.78 mph by my figures but yeah Roadbike, does appear the numbers given by Honda are off. Had not even thought to check them figures until you brought it up. My service rep will be in the shop this coming Tues, I'll make a point of trying to clear that bit up.

Some time ago I posted a thread regarding the slow speed of my commercial Honda HRC216HXA which I bought in 2004. I also had slow ground speed.

At the dealer where I bought my machine, the tach read 2950. The service tech reset the RPM to 3600 but it was screaming so I did not leave it there and brought it back about 300RPMs. It was better but not great.

Adjusting the Hydro cable gave me the ground speed I was looking for but the slow hydro "position" was too fast. What I did was to settle for a happy medium.
-----------------
"I read...somewhere...that commercial mowers were set to run a little slower because operators were behind them all day long. Myth or fact...I don't know. Maybe one of the mower pros could comment."

The operators I saw in Jersey from "South of the Border" have the stamina of 21 mile marathon runners. Speed = Money. I certainly couldn't keep up to them...If I tried I would end up at room temperature.

To prevent the speculation and guessing I actually tested the Honda Masters mower to calculate the actual speed in MPH. The test conditions were: Temp 70 degrees, flat even grass, 8:30 AM, No wind, the mower was fueled up, and the bag was empty, the grass portion was previously mowed, and a 100 foot section was measured and steel staked. A total of 10 test runs were made (it both directions), and each recorded with a stop watch.
For the test on mowed grass the average speed was 1.87 MPH. The average speed on pavement was 2.0 MPH. The average speed when I pushed the mower by hand was 3.24 MPH.
Under perfect test conditions this mower could not even reach 2.0 MPH on previously mowed grass. The speed will also fall more with a loaded grass bag, or when mowing on inclines!!!
This mower is 3 weeks old and will be back to the Honda dealer on Monday morning. Paid $900 and I was expecting a mower with better performance!
If the dealer cannot fix the poor performance, I may have to consider another model or brand! Any suggestions!
Thanks for all of the feedback.
Dan

When you take it back to the dealer, give him the figures you came up with. If he can't correct the problem and won't take the next step of contacting tech line himself, find the consumer line in your owners manual and call Honda. Don't give up. The Masters series is no longer made due to overall low sales but many folks still covet those things in the same way LB fanatics do with those green things. They are excellent mowers that just were to expensive for most homeowners.

Talked to my rep today. He had no explanation for the apparent error in test figures but did say the mowers he had tested that were adjusted correctly covered the distance in 5.2 seconds. That brings ground speed up to 3.93 mph.

Nevada,

I did take the Masters mower into the Dealer and spoke to the head technician. He ran it and said this is SLOW. He checked the RPM and it was in the 2900 range. He bumped it up to about 3280. Next he repositioned the drive cable position and tightened it down. When he tested it the Honda ran alot faster. I took it and drove it with the new settings. It was like night and day. Measured the speed and it was about 3.6 MPH!! In actual mowing that speed will be great. I believe that fix was just what you recommended. (The tech mentioned that it was one of the new techs that originally set up this unit!!) Anyway, Thank you Nevada for sharing YOUR knowledge and expertise with so many people on this forum!!
Dan

Glad you got someone with experience to look at it this time. It's too good a mower for someone to be disappointed in just because the set up was not done right.

I just happened to work on a Masters right after my last post. Just a tune up request but the customer had tweaked up the governor to around 3500 rpm, I'm sure to try and gain some ground speed. It was an older unit and the cable may have just stretched. Anyway, even with the higher rpm's it barely got out of its own way. I reset both the rpm's and ground speed.

Hope his rpm tinkering was indeed for ground speed cause otherwise he might be P.O.'d at me when he gets in the lawn. That booger flies now. My luck he'll hear it reving slower and think it will really go slow and then go and hit something cause it gets away from him.

I have a new Honda HR215KHXA (Masters Series) mower purchased new in April '06. It has worked great until the last month when it lost any torque/power. It runs fine but will cut only thin grass. My local Honda dealer can't seem to provide a solution.

This is my second Honda. The first was 16 years old when I gave it to my son. I wish I had it back but he won't trade after seeing the problem I am having.

Can anyone offer a solution?

I have a HRX217HXA mower. The transmission cable broke and was replaced under warranty a year ago (with original type cable). It broke again and they replaced it with the new cable/kit. Now the mower self propelled speed is very slow. Tried adjusting the cable per the owner's manual and still slow. Trying to advance the cable to gain speed and then the rear wheels lock when you try to pull the mower backwards (drive disengaged of course). Took it back to the dealer ( A Harley/Honda dealer where I bought it) and they called and told me there is nothing wrong. Any Suggestions? Will a slipping belt cause a loss of speed? How important is the two control cable bands? ( I made sure they were at the right places when I adjusted it, and then as the mechanic had told me after the cable change that they sometimes hurt more than helped I removed them, but still same slow speed) When I go get it tomorrow (a 70 mile round trip) I will try it out and if still slow show your previous suggestions (for other models) to them. Thanks, Cliff

I would look for another Honda mower repair shop. Hopefully you can find one that specializes in lawn mowers and not motor cycles. Two broken cables in one year doesn't make any sense.

The cables breaking are a known problem to Honda, they put out a service bulletin and replacemnt cable kit to alleviate the problem. I bought this mower when it first came out and when the 1st cable broke the service bulletin had not come out. This time it had and they put the new style in. They called and I went up today and they could not find anything wrong. The Goverened speed was 2950RPM with in the spec range. It does move faster than it did when I mowed with it. We timed its top speed at 2.82MPH and spec is 3.8-4.0 I believe. They kept it and were going to call Honda when they opened on the West Coast. As they haven't called to come get it yet maybe Honda had some ideas. Hopefullly waiting.

Hope they get the speed adjusted for you. 2.8 mph is pretty pokey. You might ask them to set the rpm at the high end of the acceptable range.

How does one increase rpm's on HRB215SXA 2 speed? Cable or carb adj? About to order a new transmission (at $110 from Plano)so while I'm at it.... Always felt it was slow for the last 10 years, bogs down a bit while trying to mulch in heavy leaves and grass. thx.

I was going to call my dealer about the same problem and I found this thread. How timely. This is for nevada walrus since he is the Honda expert. I have a masters series HB215KHXA that I purchased new four years ago? It has always been slow. I am planning on having my dealer look at it but if you can tell me what changes I could make to speed the ground speed up I could either try the fix myself or have the dealer do it. I haven't done the ground spped test yet but will give it a try. Thanks for your help.

I recently got the deal of the century. I purchased a very nice "needs repair" Honda Harmony HRB215 w/quadra cut push mower at a garage sale for $10.00! It runs, cuts grass and moves. The only thing that I can find wrong with it is the blade clutch slips in heavy grass. I do not have a manual and would like to know if this is a simple cable adjustment or if I am looking at replacement parts? Or, is there a site that I can review a manual?
Thanks for any help.
Regards,
Joe

I have an HRB215 MVBA6240228 and I am pretty sure that the transmission is fried. Two Questions:
Can the 2 speed transmission be upgraded to a 3 speed? I am willing to rig the control if necessary...
If the transmission can't be upgraded, can the speed be adjusted in the transmission, or by swapping pulleys?

Thanks

My base gasket let go and I am trying to replace it. When separating the engine I don't know if the cam is timed right as it slipped off. There is a timing mark on the cam gear but I can't find one on the shaft.

How do you set the timing, it is a HRB 215 walk behind mower.

Thanks Kirk