I was at a local Honda dealer yesterday and I was stunned by the prices on their snowblowers. In Canadian dollars, they were: 928 wheels: $3000 928 track: $3400 724 track: $3400 1132 track: $3500 I know they have tracks, hydro tranny, honda engines, etc. but they're at least $1000-1500 more than equivalent toro and ariens models. Is it gold, they re making?

starwarrior wrote:

To you too. Its nice chatting with you guys.

joed wrote:

Honda Snowblowers are just the best quality, and when has " The BEST " ever been cheap ?  Buy 1 machine that will last you a lifetime, the HONDA HS snowblower !

New_Yorker wrote:
Is this your first Honda?  Have you even used it yet?

By the way, from looking at what Yamaha has to offer, I'd say they are likely superior to Honda. 

That would be my choice if I were in the mood to spend money needlessly.

borat wrote:

Yes my first Honda Snowblower, BUT . . . my next door neighbor works for the town, and uses the Honda Machines the Town bought, mainly because the John Deere and Ariens brand snowblowers broke down too often.  I have seen the reliability, power, and longevity first hand, hence my decision to pay the higher price for the best machine.

Yamaha Snow blowers would have been a consideraton if they could be purchased anywhere near New York City, Long Island Metro area.  My Yamaha dealer sells motorcycles and snowmobiles but no snowblowers.

The hydrostatic Transmission on the Honda that replaces the maintenance needy and very unreliable friction wheel system alone is worth the higher cost.  I would never buy another frriction disc snowblower no matter how cheap they are.

You have to look at the full product line of snowblowers available outside of North America and compare. Honda looks shabby because HoA chose to decaffeinate products sold in US.

" very unreliable friction wheel system"

More "fiction" about friction.

You have repeatedly mentioned your problem with your machine.  From information you provided it would appear that abuse of the machine was more likely the cause of your failed friction disk system. 

Your experience is not representative of the many millions of friction disk system currently in circulation. 

I know numerous people who own nothing but snow throwers with friction disk systems.  Many of these machines are going on twenty years old (some older)  and the friction drive systems are working fine.  Other aspects of their machines may be failing but not the wheel drive systems. 

One rather poor example of a failed friction disk does not warrant condemnation of a drive system that has proven very robust, reliable, inexpensive and easy to repair, even on the lowest cost machines. 

You're discrediting yourself ever time you make such unfounded statements concerning the reliability/functionality of disk drive systems. 

If that's the only purpose you switched to a Honda, you did so for the wrong reason.

I have had some Ariens machines from as far back as the 60s with the original friction wheel and still worked 100%  Very good system if done right.  I have a newer Ariens at work first year of the Briggs motor and the drive slips as soon as powder snow melts and gets in. Bad engineering.   I own several machines including Ariens, Toro, Honda and they all are great machines.

 While I really like my Honda machines and they tend to throw snow like nothing else I have used I must say I do not see them as built heavy duty like a commercial duty machine should be.  The metal on the bucket is thin. The gear case is aluminum, Thats not a bad thing but cast seems to be stronger.  Hondas are very basic but a system that is tried and true.  My Ariens dle has much heavier metal and a cast gear box.  The drive system in my Ariens "friction wheel type" Is flawless. 

I do like my Honda Hydrostatic drive.  You get what you pay for. While Honda machines are more expensive they are great machines. 

Knee_Biter wrote:

Having just had to drill through the Honda HS 928TAS Auger Housing to mount the Commercial Skid Shoes, I can attest that the guage of the Honda Machines Sheet metal is as good as any snowblower out there and heavier than most. So I feel the extra cost for the machine holds up in its construction at least.  The test of the paint will take some time, but the cheapo MTD - Craftsman machine was loosing huge sheets of paint in its first year, so it will undoubtedly be an improvement over that.  The big commercial Ariens I had before that was primed and painted in the Pre-VOC worry Era, so its paint was intact with a little spot rust showing through earlier this year when my sister, who got it from me, gave it away.  The powder coat was the stuff that failed on the MTD-Sears machine.

The Honda transmission will be a welcome improvement over the maintenance heavy, unreliable friction wheel of yesteryear, and the cast aluminum Hydrostatic Transmission casing won't rust out the way a cast iron case would, so I don't see that as a problem.  Besides the lighter weight case works for me, the machine already weighs over 200# already.  I agree that quality is worth the extra money.  I tend to take excellent care of my machines, which explains how the MTD - Craftsman cheapo managed to still work after 14 years, but i'm not into all that maintenance and the questionable capability of the old friction wheel gizmo.  If I had only light powdery snow it'd probably go unnoticed, but where I live the snow is always heavy, wet, and sticky so I need the more capable drive system.  Like you I feel the Honda's are great machines, well worth the added cost.

Has anyone seen the new Yamaha's close up? IMO they visually appear more stout than the Hondas. Of course I'd have to drive up to BC to buy one but that isn't that far from me. I was trying to see if their axle was locked like the Hondas or if they had some form of steering on the lower end models. I'll look around... I think there may have been some discussion last year on them,

I haven't seen one up close yet but from the information available, they look like very serious machines.  They actually make the Honda look insignificant by comparison. 

This is the baby I'd buy.

		Price Tag $3,999  msrp*
Overview Technical Details Features Accessories and Apparel Gallery and Media Payment Estimator Extended Warranty Select Model YT624E YT624EDJ YS928J YT1232ED	Clearing Width 71.5cm (28 in) Housing Height 51.0cm (20 in) Blowing Capacity 50 tons/hr Maximum Blowing Distance 16m (52 ft) Axle Rubber track Transmission Hydrostatic Speeds Infinitely variable Ground Speed (km/h) Forward: 0 ~ 3.2 Reverse: 0 ~ 2.4 Type Dual stage with "Shock Protector" Diameter 350mm (13.8in) Drive Electromagnetic Height Adjustment Gas assist Rotation Electric Deflection Manual, two-step (remote lever) Turning Radius 220º Chute Material Steel with inside plastic liner Model MZ250E Type 4-stroke air-cooled, OHV, single cylinder Displacement 251cc Maximum Horsepower 8.5 hp Starting System Electric 12VDC battery type (std) Ignition T.C.I. Recommended Fuel Regular unleaded gasoline (PON 87) Recommended Engine Oil Yamalube 5W30 Fuel Tank Capacity (L) 6.7 litres Engine Oil Capacity 1.1 litre Wet Weight 169kg (373 lb) L x W x H mm (in) 155.8 x 73.0 x 110.5cm (61.3 x 28.7 x 43.5 in) Private Use† 2-year, limited. Commercial Use† 1-year, limited.