The HRC is designed for commercial use and is a bit heavy for most consumers. Be aware that the handle height is not adjustable.
A high end consumer mower such as the HRX should last a long time provided it is properly cared for.

If I have to mow 1 acre, I would consider something bigger than the 21". Particular you are willing to spend $1200. You going to spend a long time mowing with a 21"

I bought the HRC this past June. Please see my post titled Honda HRC216HXA which is now on the 4th page, to see responses. I only have 1 issue with it that Honda cannot resolve, nor do they acknowledge - yet.
When mowing, it leaves random single blades of un-cut grass throughout the yard. I really was surprised at the cutting quality of this mower for the price. As you know, it has the stacked blade Micro-cut system. Not sure if this is the problem or what. Other owners say the deck design really hasn't changed. On the plus side, you can't beat the power and efficiency of the shaft drive transmission, and the engine altough it is only 160cc does very well. Yes, it is a very heavy mower at just over 120 lbs. But with the transmission engaged, it is quite maneuverable. It does cut grass better that hasn't over grown. I say that because our summer here in Florida was very wet, and the grass grew strong & fast, 7-8 inches in a week. The quality of cut is the only problem I have with it. Ask your dealer if they have had any complaints. My dealer hasn't, but another dealer locally has. The Honda rep also denied there being a problem, although he offered, and sent a spacer to use in place of the upper blade. This according to him is because commercial guys complained that the blades were clogging. I tried the spacer, but it really didn't help with the quality of cut. Right now, I don't feel like I'm getting an $1100.00 cut.

I am looking at a mower also. The thing that bugs me is the HRC is 120 lbs but still using 15 gauge steel deck only.

I am looking at Toro mowers because it is 1/4" aluminum deck and it generally lighter. If you don't get the BBC, you can get away with the "Heavy Duty" at about 105lbs. The "Commercial" is only 80 to 90 lbs.

In his case, I still think he should look at the 36" WB. I seen it for less than $1500. Better than to spend $1200 for a 21". That is just me. I only have about 3000 sqft, so I stay with the 21".

At $1200 the HRC216K3HXA is a lot of money, but the GXV160 engine and shaft drive place it in a class of its own. A lot of people like the GCV160 and GCV190 OHC engines, but I consider them a high-end consumer engine. The GXV120/140/160 OHV are legitimate commercial engines and have earned their stripes since the early 1980's. The shaft drive is nearly bullet proof, although Honda transmissions have some repair issues and are extremely expensive to replace ($341.00 for 20001-VK6-505 transmission).

Due to size of your lawn a ZTR walk-behind might be more appropriate. However $1500 for a ZTR won't get you much in the way of quality. The Toro Proline and Exmark mid-size start at about $3000 for a gear transmission and about $500 more for hydro. They top out at about $5000. Scag and Snapper Pro are also good but even more expensive.

At the low end ($1500 or so) there are mid-size like Worldlawn and others, but they are really consumer machines, in spite of their advertising. Service life expectations must be adjusted accordingly.

I too was surprised at the 15 gauge steel used on the Honda commercial deck - especially since the Snapper walk behinds (both commercial and homeowner models) are 14 gauge. I agree with yungman that you might want a larger mower, just to reduce mowing time, although the commercial Honda will take you around the yard at up to 4 MPH if you want the exercise. Pretty impressive considering its over all weight. Someone wrote me on my other post that Honda is test marketing a new Nexite deck in Canada for their commercial machines. Kinda makes one wonder if they're aware of an issue with the current decks.

A shaft drive commercial lawn mower will not mow your lawn any better or faster than an equivalent size consumer mower like the Toro you were looking at. The advantage of a commercial machine is it gives the professional lawn guy a machine with a longer duty cycle and it probably has a bigger gas tank. For you there is only the disadvantage of paying for capacity you will never use.

For him, it is the cutting width that is important. I won't want to spend 2 hours mowing. Not to mention have to empty the bag all the time.

A half-A##( behind) 36" is going to be a lot better than the best commercial 21". Particular Honda is not good with warranty repair and the hydro cost an arm and a leg to repair!!!! There is no non commercial 36". The cheapest one you can find is still designed for commercial duty!!!

This may not be Honda-related, but I have a 1984 Toro 21" walk-behind with the blade-brake clutch (which my dad had successfully fixed two months ago), and I'd like to ask you this: was the BBC all that reliable?

~Ben

The Toro BBC worked well. I would consider them reliable. Having any issues?

I've never had any problems with the Honda hydro tranny. I have one over 12 years old, and it still works great. Shaft drive can't be beat either. I imagine they are expensive items to repair or replace, but chances are that it will be a very long time (if ever) before you have to do anything to them - as long as they aren't abused.

The only thing other then weight I can think of is
the warranty on the commercials is shorter.

I'm replacing my just recently stolen HRC215K1PDA (human powered push) with a HRC216 as soon as paper work clears.

Hi I bought the equivalent of this mower in the mid 70's and am still using it to cut 2 yards every week and it still starts the first pull EVERY time,never had any trouble with the tyranny, this one only has a 2 speed that's changed with a lever on the deck, nor the roto-stop. The steel deck is getting tired and has a few holes but what do you expect for 35 years of use. I have got to say that this is the best lawnmower that I have ever laid my hands on and I will buy nothing else when this on decides to die. I paid a little over 600 in the 70's so $1200.00 35 years later ain't so bad, I know I'll never have to buy another for the rest of my life. Oh and this has a 5 year warranty for residential use.

I got one of this mowers on the way from Miami to Costa Rica
and I was unaware of this mulching problems of this mower in
particular nor the procedure to correct the problen with this
spacer removing the upper blade. Does anyone have one of this
spacers willing to sell it to Me?. We do not have a Honda dea-
ler here and I will have to find that spacer in the U.S.
Have an address in Miami for shipping. Thanks