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

I just recently installed the side-mount skid shoes on my hs 1132.

 I might be wrong but it seems that maybe their more forward location changes the pivot point of the bucket, making the difference between mid and low adjustment less dramatic. Does anybody else with these shoes notice this? I am measuring a bit of a difference in auger clearance, but because the scraper is now behind the pivot point it doesn't seem to change height - maybe it never did since I didn't check it's movement with the rear-mount shoes before I removed them.

I can't otherwise really say what I think of the difference between the two shoes. I've only cleared a couple times since installing them and my driveway looks like the downhill moguls run right now.

They weren't that cheap though.

Any solid opinions on their performance?

 Why does Honda offer this option and why they rear-mount. I'd think they must have put some thought into that rear-mount design for some good reason- maybe the pivot point for adjustability?

Thanks for the input. I spent an hour on the ice yesterday shifting between adjustments and trying to determine how to get the ice scraped for skating and noticed that it wasn't the same with the side-mount shoes.

I'll have to use them for a while on the driveway to see how they'll work for me - if the better stability outweighs the ice-scraping mode.

Post your observation on the scraper mode to create a skating surface.  I've never heard of this application but I am curious how well it works.  These tracked Honda like to dig like gophers so I don't know how well it works when set up for grading surfaces.

I don't use the ice scraping mode much because I don't want the auger to contact concrete.  The auger blades get sharpened knife sharp when that happens.

I like the bucket stability with the side skids but did not like how it turns.  So now I have bucket supported by the rear skids while the side skids are raised 1/8" higher than the rear.  Hopefully, this will allow me to turn easier while still have the bucket stability.  Now just waiting for some snow to test out this setup......

aa335 wrote: With the rear shoes I had the auger  blades adjusted a bit higher and the scraper bar as per recommendation (3-5/32nds) so in ice scraping mode I could basically clean the pond leaving no snow behind. The auger blades never came in contact with the ice.

I'd like to try utilizing both skids like you've mentioned but I notice that when the side skids are raised to their higher extent they get in the way of lowering the scraper bar - the nut on the side of the bucket for the scraper bar adjustment can't slide down to the lowest point in the groove because of the side-mount skids. Did you see this problem?

dfvellone wrote:
My scraper bar is at the topmost of the slot so I'm not seeing this problem.  Are you using the two welded nuts on the bucket housing or did you drill holes and use the provided plate? 

aa335 wrote:
I drilled holes and used the plates. There isn't much room for error either - the shape of the bucket housing where the shoes get mounted restricts where you can mount them. I might have been able to mount them forward a bit, but probably not enough to make much of a difference.

Why do you have your scraper bar so high? New scraper?  I adjusted mine as per Honda's recommendation (3-5/32nds above grade at the mid setting) and that puts the bar at the bottom end of the slots.
 

dfvellone wrote:
Yes, the scraper bar is new, 2 and 3/8 inch wide .  My auger clearance to the pavement is 5/32 inch, scraper bar 1/16 inch.