Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

My Ariens 824 is a good machine but the control handles are so low (for me!) is there any mod that will raise the handles? Which snow blower is better suited for people you have over 6'? My back and arms ache due to low position of controls. Thanks.

The high end Yamahas and Honda sold  in Japan have height adjustable handlebars (see attached video). There's an extension for honda in North America but it still not very high.  l have a single stage Honda that I put a 2 inch extension on.  It was easy and you could just as easily add 12 inches. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDND7nR49yY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDOOvLt0lMI&NR=1

Those Hondas are pretty slick.  But will they turn right ?  I ask because in every sequence
showing the machine turning and how to turn it's always to the left.  I like the model that
can have one track going forward and the other backward so the machine can turn on itself.
If only the smaller models did that.

I doubt that it would be an easy matter to raise your handlebars.  My new Ariens 9526 DLE
has handlebars that are pretty high.  I'm 5'10" and they could be lower without it bothering me.

Paul

My brother put taller tires on his 824 and it gave him just enough. His back was hurting from leaning over. He found a set of taller tires and all is good

Knee_Biter wrote:
That's interesting.  I've been wondering if I could put smaller wheels on mine to lower
1st gear.  I hadn't thought that it would also lower the height but then I think my handlebars
are adjustable upwards a small amount (there are two sets of holes to mount the bars).

You brother's machine must go a bit faster with the taller tires.

Paul

Underdog wrote:
Any pics or link on what the handle bar extension looks like?

whitetail wrote:

What is your model #? If you have 15" wheels and tires, a set of 16" will raise the handlebars nicely. The actual rolling diamater difference is closer to 2" (14.6 versus 16.5 or something along those lines). You'll need both wheels and tires though as the 15" tires use 6" wheels, and the 16" tires use 8". H-bars will go up 3+ inches. You should put a block under your tires and see if the unit is tipped forward more than 2-3 degrees with this type of change though (use the top of the frame as a reference point). Any more than that and you'll have problems with the scraper blade touching the ground and the runners and housing wearing strangly.

Whitetail, from what I have seen, your machine has really "crooked"  bars so they won't easily lend themselves to extension, and then you may have to extend the various control rods/cables. But if that's the way you need to go, I'd suggest unbolting the bars where they attach to the chassis and add a piece of flat bar stock ( 1/4 x 1) between the bars and the chassis.

Cheers

Thanks for all the replies,I managed to raise the handles about 3.5" by bending what Ariens calls" lower handlebars" to a more up right position.Had to remove the lower bars and bend them equal distance...A LITTLE BENDING GOES ALONG WAY! after bending drive has to be readjusted and its now faster in reverse (and of course slower in all forward speeds) this can also be corrected but having a faster reverse does not bother me. My Ariens is model No.924050. Takes about 1 hr .