I'm not as up to date in the snowblower world as some here, but I was in the same debate a week ago. I posted a thread looking for the best blower for my needs and got some pretty good responses. You might want to check it out "Best snowblower for the long haul?" I really liked the Honda and thought I would go that route because of the companies reputation for good products, and the positive feel around this forum for them. However I ended up happily buying the Simplicity Pro after closely checking them out and discussing them with my local dealers. Here was what it came down to as I saw it, post# 12 from the previously mentioned thread;
Wanted to say thanks to all who responded. It was a tough decision, and I could still be persuaded one way or other between Honda and Simplicity. There just both seem to be great machines. I really wanted the tracks of the Honda. I just wasn't feeling up to an Ariens, so I didn't really look at them much as far as an option for tracks. They are probably great as well, but I personally am put off by the cheapening of even some models and the lack of dealers wanting to deal with them in the area. Just a personal feeling on the matter, nothing against the machines.
When push came to shove I went for the Simplicity P11528E, the 28" pro series. I went to look at the Honda this morning and tried it out. It was the 1032, and it is a great machine. I really liked the fit and finish of all the brackets and plates. Love the tracks! Then I left to purchase the Simplicity. I didn't really care about the price difference, at least not at first. They want $2500.00 for and Honda 928. I'm really not knocking the Honda at all, I was impressed, but there were a few things I didn't care for. I'll list them, seems easier that way.
-Tubular handle bars. Wouldn't have been a thought If I hadn't seen the big C Channel bars used on simplicity. I lifted and pushed on the honda bars to compare and wow they did move quiet a bit. I'm sure they wouldn't break, the dealer had some older ones there and none were broken. However, the robustness of the simplicity can be seen a mile away. Honda chassis seem to be closer in design to the large frame Simplicity. Although the Honda bars are welded to the chasis, not bolts to losen (good unless you did have a problem)
-Cables were nicely laid out and bunched together on the honda, nice professional look. However, it made the simplicity look easier to maintain. Maybe not, but at a glance there is alot to adjust under the control panel of the honda. Also, I really didn't like the flimsy little choke pull on the honda. I think I would break that leaning into the machine working it.
-Didn't see any grease zerks on the Honda augers. At first I thought no bid deal I'll just take it apart, drill and tap to install a couple. Then I thought I didn't want to pay top dollar only to have to tear it apart to do something that should already be there. Also the smaller diameter of the auger shaft makes it look like the whole front is built a little light than the simplicity.
-Adjusting the Chute deflector. The honda has a simple lever like most others, works but tends to move itself up as the snow blowing against pushes it. Dealer said you can tighten it so it won't happen, but is then difficult to operate. Simplicity seems to solve the problem by making indents that the lever locks into.
-Tracks seem great! However, the only way to back the machine up really is put it into reverse. This wasn't that fast when I tried it out, but similar to my experience with wheeled machines. There are some areas Where I just pull the wheeled machines back as it's much easier and faster. Can't do it with tracks. When I tried it out it was snowing pretty good, 3-4 inches on the ground, and we were on clean pavement otherwise. Made roads and parking lot a little slick. Set the machine to the lower position, moved the hydrostatic full forward and engaged machine. It sort of jumped at engagement, the front probably bit on the pavement alittle, and the tracks spun. Machine stayed put until I pushed some on the bars. This really sold me on the Simplicity, as I felt I was trading off some build quality and comfort of control layout and manuverability for the unstopable traction, only to see them spin. I still really feel the tracks are great. This was I'm sure not a totally fair test of there ability. The machine was probably only unboxed and not set up properly, and conditions just right to work against it. However, with my uneven gravel driveway which always has an ice base on it in the winter, I wouldn't be surprised to experience similar results. Not that a wheeled one will be necessarily better in that situation either, but I couldn't compromise on everything else (in my mind) and not see a significant advantage when I tried it.
-I had spent some time with a good dealer that deals both simplicity and honda. In short he didn't want to steer me, but felt the honda wasn't worth the extra cost. Both machines were great and I would be happy either way. As I said before, I didn't mind the extra initial cost. The Simplicity was $2000.00 even, and would pay the $500.00 extra for a better machine. As we looked at some of the older one he explained that there was pin in the hydrostatic trans that sometimes sheared. Repair cost was over $800.00. This included an update to the drive that the newer machines already have, and he assured me it solved the problem. Some of the used ones were 8 and 9 year old machines that ended up getting traded and were for sale. Owners didn't went to spend that much to repair a 9 year old machine and bought new ( the one owner we discussed replaced the old honda with a new simplicity, not that it says anything bad about honda really). I really want to bite the bullet and buy something reliable for many years to come. These older hondas looked to be in fairly good shape, but I understand the logic of owners that traded them instead of doing an expensive repair. Bottom line, I don't want to have to trade a good machine because repair will likely be to costly to justify on older equipment. Most parts on Simplicity are considerably cheaper from what I can tell.
-The Simplicity did seem more comfortable with the higher handle bars and controls. The Honda handle bar height wasn't to bad, but I did really have to bend over to crank the chute around. I suppose I would get use to it, and didn't really think it was that big of deal. I did really like the smoothness of the Honda's chute crank. One thing I'm not to sure on was the Simplicitys electric motor to move the chute. I would rather have the Honda's mechanical set up. I decided not to worry about it to much because I know that parts like the electric motor are simply and wiper motor, reliable and easy to replace at NAPA if need be. The dealer assured me that they had been used reliably like that for some time, I'm hoping so.
The little things like the above mentioned chute deflector with indents to hold position are what sold me on Simplicity. Honda seems to make products that are great, many of them are second to none, by putting so much thought and engineering into it that it's almost like engineering art work (the brackets and quality of the auger crank is really slick). However, simple and rugged to me is they way to go for snowblowers, and even then things break. I think, even though it may be minimal in reality, Simplicity has the edge here. Not as fancy, but straight forward things that work. Also most likely any repairs down the road will hopefully be easy and cheap enough to keep running it.
So, in the end, I got my Simplicity pro 28" for $2175.00 out the door delivered and serviced with tax from a good dealer. Should be here tomorrow afternoon, can't wait! No, I won't be trying to climb my 25 steps with it. I am debating if it is a good idea to try it on some really hard snow ice that piled up when it got warm and is now nice and solid at 8 degrees outside. Perhaps I should break it in on some easier stuff and forget about that pile until spring takes it away. Any thoughts on that one?
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