Sunday, August 12, 2012

Honda hr214 handle braces

One of the things that has always bothered me about my hr214 is the handle wobbled a little bit, especially when I would push down on it to take pivot the mower around turns. After a little investigation, I found out that the pin on the  handle stay (the bracket that attaches the handle to the deck) had broken off, causing the loose fit.

At the same time that I figured that out, I had also seen somebody on the MTF forms say that you could add commercial handle braces to the hr214 and that it would make a big improvement. Long story short, I went ahead and bought the commercial braces, along with the handle stay.

So did it get rid of the wobble? Absolutely! The handle feels like its carved out of rock, and is completely stable while i'm walking behind the mower. In retrospect, I'm not sure if the handle braces were necessary, or the stay itself would have done as good a job, but I think with the braces in place the handle stay won't brake again.

Here is what the new stay looks like. Not chrome, but functionally identical.

Posted by at 7:54 AM

16 comments:

  1. ChrisAugust 17, 2012 at 11:16 PM

    Hi Jack -

    What P/N's did you order for the braces? I've considered adding these, but always been put-off by the likelihood of ordering the wrong parts. :-/

    FYI, I replaced the oil in my transmission. The local Honda repair shop indicated that this transmission is *extremely* reliable. The gears are quite heavy, and in my case showed essentially no wear. I suspect that the weak point on mine is the input drive (especially if the transmission goes dry) where the shaft runs in an aluminum sleeve. Fortunately mine still seemed quite snug. Later models incorporated a pressed steel bushing in this location.

    It is a bit of a PITA to get the transmission out, and there are a couple of small seals that were different than the online catalog indicated (based on the mower SN). So you might get to pay for shipping twice. :-(

    BTW, my engine still smoked after re-assembly. So I wound-up getting it professionally re-bored for slightly over-sized rings. Surprisingly, based on the re-boring job, the engine was probably not perfectly bored even from the factory. But now it runs like new! No smoke, and lots of power! :D

    Thanks,

    Chris

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  2. JackTheMowerAugust 18, 2012 at 6:39 AM

    Hey Chris,

    I like the handles more everytime I use them...I used 11-06531-VA3-010 : SUPPORT KIT, HANDLE to order it from boats.net.

    Very glad to hear you're back in business with bigger rings!

    I took another look at the transmission assembly last week-do you just have to crack the case to drain/reassemble?

    -Jack

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  3. Donald WilliamsonAugust 26, 2012 at 5:18 PM

    Hi Jack,
    I found your blog linked on gardenersweb. I have an 84 HR214 that is beat. I doubt it's fixable, but take a look. I'm looking for a few parts and will read your blog start to finish before going further.
    I actually mowed my lawn with this today, unfortunately the recoil starter and drive gears died today.
    Video and link to stills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7yMh3YDmsA&feature=plcp
    Don

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  4. JackTheMowerAugust 27, 2012 at 2:06 PM

    Hey Don,

    Whoa! The motor should be salvageable as the smoke is probably just from the rings, but I can't endorse running that deck with the hole in the side. I'd try to pick up another one and use that one as parts. What do you think made the hole in the aluminum?

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  5. ChrisSeptember 4, 2012 at 1:32 AM

    Hi Jack -

    Thanks for the PN for the handle supports. I ordered them tonight.

    Regarding the transmission. Yes, you simply open the two halves and drip oil all over the place. :D

    The transmission itself is pretty easy to deal with. The more challenging part is how it is mounted in the mower. You basically have to disassemble the entire rear drive assembly (wheels, etc.). Also, be sure to take care when reassembling the transmission into the mower that you properly align the drive shaft connection to the engine. It is easy to get this misaligned. DAMHIKT...

    Chris

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  6. NMay 8, 2013 at 3:53 PM

    Just ordered my handle stays from boats.net using the part number you provided. I would have had no idea how to fix those handles, whose pins must have just popped off recently. Wish I had a nice mechanic like you around the house, but I think I can manage this. ;)

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  7. HarborJune 20, 2013 at 11:52 AM

    Thank you for the article! Go Honda!

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  8. Carson H.May 29, 2015 at 9:24 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Carson H.May 29, 2015 at 9:24 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. Carson H.May 29, 2015 at 9:25 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Carson H.May 29, 2015 at 10:07 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. UnknownNovember 2, 2016 at 5:06 AM

    I am thinking about installing the support kit on my HR215. I can't find any information or pictures on how they attach. Did you have to drill any holes? I don't want to order it until I'm sure I won't have to modify my deck. Thanks!

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  13. Carson H.November 4, 2016 at 8:28 AM

    I did drill holes on the side of the deck where they attach. If you can wait I can get photos over the weekend. I highly recommend these as they make it so the bars do not wiggle at all!! Worth every penny, even after 30 years of the mowers life.

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  14. UnknownNovember 7, 2016 at 7:49 AM

    Thanks! Pictures are appreciated!

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  15. Carson H.November 7, 2016 at 3:42 PM

    I'll be home Saturday, I wasn't able to make it home this past weekend.

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  16. UnknownNovember 12, 2016 at 11:54 AM

    I went ahead and ordered a set. Pictures are still appreciated however. I figured if I didn't like how they attach I can always resell them...

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