After shovelling 8-10 hrs. a day last year I swore to get a good snowblower.
Decided on the Honda HS928 without seeing one first hand. My first impression
is that it's a bit short for most Americans who are tend to be taller than people
from other parts of the world. I also thought some simple design aspects were
overlooked. Mainly no tie down plates so you can transport the blower to other
places. Considering this model is a commercial grade you'd think they'd have
thought of it.
The machine is difficult to maneuver without the engine running. I'm thinking a
set of "training wheels" might do wonders for a tracked machine. A kick plate
that would flip some wheels down to turn it around would have been one way
to solve the problem. I also thought there should be a way to steer by braking or
even reversing either track like a tank. Even a way to shift either track into neutral
would make steering pretty nice. (I used to drive VW Beetles that I had equipped
with a JC Whitney dual lever parking brake adapter that would allow the driver to
pull on either handle to brake rear drive wheel. The other wheel would push
the car in the direction of the wheel that was being held with the handle. It used
the braked wheel as a pivot enabling you to steer with the front wheels and the
one rear wheel.)
I still think my choice was good. I had purchased a used Honda Weed Trimmer
(UMK 431) last summer and was very impressed with the quality (other than the
stupid design of the line spool which I substitued with an aftermarket design that
uses short peices of line (about 9") stuck into three tabs (I spray a bit of wd-40 into
the holes to make feeding the line peices easier). I also purchased an older Honda
Van (2001) and was also impressed with the design and reliability. Have ridden a Honda
Scooter for past 5 years with no complaints there either (it's the PS-250 Big Ruckus).
I was a bit disappointed with the dealer's instructions (failed to mention the fuel shutoff
which I think is VERY important) and I didn't see any grease on parts such as the chute
directional control, etc.
