Making tight turns was a breeze w/ front wheel drives, but as you have found- a different situation with rwd. Where possible, eliminate those 180s as much as you can by changing your cutting pattern. People also seem to find as they get more used to the PP drive, they get relaxed and things seem to go smoother.

There is no problem making turns or turnarounds with the RWD mower. This comes up from time to time and I cannot understand why. With Personal Pace you just push down on the handle to raise the front wheels, pivot, then push off in the new direction. When approaching the turn or turnaround, you can slow down if you wish, and Personal Pace also slows with you. When pushing the handle down to raise the front wheels to pivot on the rear wheels, be careful not to push the sliding handle down which engages the drive. Basically you simply use the mower like a push mower without trying to 'control' the drive. This is what gets people in trouble with Personal Pace. Plus, there is a general misunderstanding about making turns with a RWD mower. There is no difficulty or problem involved, and no real trick to it, particularly with PP. With a control bail as with 'Variable Speed', you simply let go of the bail at the point of making the turn and pick up the bail to go in the new direction. All mowers pivot the same, whether push, FWD or RWD; you raise the front wheels off the ground as you pivot the mower.
I understand that many people seem to have some kind of 'mental block' about using a RWD mower. I've been trying to get my neighbor to switch over for years, but he keeps buying the crummy FWD mowers over and over. I suspect with him it's the same thing - he can't picture how he would make turns pivoting on the drive axle. All I can say is, it's so easy even a cave man could do it. Maybe I need to make a video. I mean, do people really have to be shown how to turn around a mower?

Saxman1, With a bit more use I've come to realize that the PP RWD mowers will turn just like the FWD, but the way the controls are used is some what different.

Regardless, I've been converted & have become a believer. If you could put a video together showing the way RWD drives are turned would be very helpful to those making the change.

Richard

I think Saxman was being sarcastic and has no intention of making a video.

I've owned a 20037 Super Recycler for about 7 years now so maybe my experiences will be of help. First off, it took a little time to get used to personal pace - as it does with any new tool.

The personal pace bar is connected to a pulley that tightens and loosens the drive belt for speed control. With no forward pressure on the bar the mower won't move. I found that by relaxing my arms while walking and not pushing the mower that forward mower speed could be easily controlled. To stop the mower all I have to do is stop walking. Turning while moving is simply a matter of pushing down on the handle bar to raise the wheels and move the mower left or right. Backing involves pulling back on the personal pace bar which releases the wheels and allows them to freewheel.

For whatever it is worth I'm 2 months shy of 65 and find the Toro personal pace drive system to be the best design I've used so far. Controlling speed via belt tension is nothing new, but Toro's implementation with a bar that slides as you walk is new and innovative.

I was not completely 'tongue-in-cheek' with the video deal, but I do have too much to do to consider such a thing. I actually recommend PP a lot even though I grew to hate the only mower I've ever had with it, a LB 10550 (Easy Stride). I have too many push-pull places in my yard for PP. My favorite is 'Variable Speed'. BTW, Lawn-Boy invented the 'automatic drive' before Toro owned them - it became 'Personal Pace'. 'Variable Speed' is the same as PP except it has a control bail. When you drop it, it instantly becomes a push mower. Otherwise you can 'feather' the bail to have drive assist as slow as you want or squeeze it to the bar for top speed. The gear ratio is very different than PP. If you convert a PP mower to use a control system (like the 'assist bar' available from Toro), you can get top speed by squeezing it all the way down. You don't want to do that, because top speed on a PP is about 15 MPH :).

Roadbike,

Thanks for the comments. In particular, I noticed this one. "I found that by relaxing my arms while walking and not pushing the mower that forward mower speed could be easily controlled."

I can't say the same. In my case, I "HAVE TO" push on the "personal Pace" bar while holding the bail closed to get it to move. Even when I do this, I can never relax my arms & just walk behind it. If I relax the arms, the drive all but stops.

Looking around on the web, I noticed a few cases where owners of new mowers found that their machines had to be adjusted to get them to work "as advertised". Do you (or anyone) think this could be the case with mine?

Hi. When I say relax your arms, I don't mean totally. You will need some tension to push the bar forward as you begin walking. I would take it back to the dealer that you bought it from and ask for it to be adjusted.

My dealer had one available for a test run in the back lot at the store. The one I bought was fully configured.

I have had to tighten the belt tension once. That process is easy and should be explained in your owners manual.