Thanks Tomplum, I've searched around the machine including jacking it up and going underneaththe rear, and I cannot find a lever. Thanks also Ggoyeneche, that is a good logical suggestion. I will search further although I'm struggling to picture exactly where you mean. Much of the drive mechanism which contains belts and a chain is shielded by body-work. I imagine that is deliberate to keep grass and sticks away from the drive and blade belts. Purely as a matter of interest, I also have a 16yr old Viking (Stihl) rider which is manually geared and side discharge only. It is a dream to work on compared to this rear-discharge hydro Castelgarden. Everything on the Viking is open and easy to see - and reach. I bought the hydro from a friend because of its grass-catcher. Frankly its been more trouble than its worth but in fairness thats probabably because my friend didn't look after it. Interesting learning curve...

To be sure it is CARB compliant just buy it at a dealer located in California. "Well, after looking around at the big box today, I see they have a Honda HRR216K5VKA for 429. It is over my budget, but doable if it is really worth it. The also had a couple of Toros at or below that range, 2 FWD and a RWD." RB> I would choose a RWD over FWD. "I really would like to get the push version of the Honda, but I do not believe anyone in the area sells it." RB> Check dealers. "Is the drive portion of the Honda (or Toros) any good, or are they going to be problems?" RB> C'mon...those are the two biggest makers of powered lawn mowers. In my experience the machines sold at box stores are good quality, but not quite on a par with the models sold at dealers. If you keep up with maintenance and repairs a Toro Recycler or it's equivalent from Honda will last many years. "Is it worth the extra money (429 vs 200-300) to go with something like the Honda or Toro?" RB> To me it is worth the money. If you buy an MTD or similar expect that handles, controls and wheels will loosen up fairly quickly. If it were me I would opt for the Toro Super Recycler from a dealer. You pay a little more but the added quality is there. "Also, Home Depot had a Honda HRX refurbished for 400 (2 actually). Is it worth the risk?" RB> Depends on the warranty. Realize that Home Depot will not do repairs at the store. Again, if it were me I would forgo the box store and go with a dealer. The price difference is not really all that much.

g'day tony, the best self propelled mower is the snapper mate for me nothing comes near them. yes apparently b&s getting a bad name but me i'm usually wary of bad hype as lots comes from lack of understanding by the regular user. i had the b&s on my greenfield shredder it worked just as well as the 20+ year old motor on my mower but then after years of fixing mowers i do give them good servicing oil is cheaper than motors. masport of course are new zealand mowers. the honda motor is getting good market share most professionals use honda motors. and of course victa no longer aussie owned sunbeam (usa) took them over when i was still repairing mowers over 20 years agao and i saw of late that sunbeam has been taken over by someone else. as far as i know rover and greenfield are true aussie machines but they don't use aussie motors there just isn't one good enough that was ever made here, they use b&s and honda at the very least. and the demise of the 2 stroke motor is well under way as per EPA regulations rules and sunbeam/victa knew all this when i was still repairing mowers so it is nothing new in the usa their home grown 2 stroke mower manufacturer has stopped production of its 2 strokes. len

this is a quality brand that is distributed by Power Distributors http://www.powerdistributors.com/ there are probably not very many dealers, however, the mowers and spare parts are available to any Briggs & Stratton dealer. The dealer may need to contact the distributor to access a parts breakdown. If you have the original paperwork, see if a part number is available. Ask the local Briggs shop to add to their next order. You can also go to this site and submit your request. http://www.masport.com/contact/general Maybe you will get an answer