Philscbx

Is this symptom of carb icing, and wet ignition from blowing snow into the wind > vs down< wind?
Thousands of hours, and have never had this issue on any machine.

Gelid wrote: Here's what you do with that cordless screw gun just laying around gathering dust.
Take the kids 2 skate boards, take off the wheel trucks, and screw one caster at each front end of board, and straight wheels on other end.
Tip the tracked machine slightly to each side, and slip skate boards under tracks.
The 50 year old kid needed new boards anyway.

I just checked the manual on the Honda track drive, and yes it does have freewheel mode lever.
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/own/31767700.PDF

I wasn't sure actually, but having the facts straight in ones face clears up misconceptions.

There are many who use snow blowers, but until you actually try a tracked Honda in a driveway that has been driven over many times before plowed, and or plowed, but now too narrow and frozen 2 or more feet of heavy crusted banks in the way. Then you haven't really done the true test yet.

Any machine can blow fresh fluff 2 feet thick all day with no effort.
But as soon as that 2 wheeled machine makes contact to frozen packed snow, the front auger will try to climb up the bank and the wheels dig in and sink forcing the handle bars to the ground with you trying to keep it up or recover from a broken back.
Not to mention the noise from the machines compared to a Honda.

A decibel meter should be used on all machines, and then pick the one that does not damage your last bit of ear drums.
There's no way you can destroy a Hydrostatic drive. There is no maintenance of belts, pulleys, or the typical junk that breaks.
Track drive is nothing more than 2 cogged wheels rapped in a track. Too simple.
It's what drives the track inside that makes the difference.
All Bobcats, and every earth moving machine uses Hydrostatic drive. It's fool proof and solid. And very powerful. Therefore you don't need more horse power.

I plow snow for a living for 30 years, and the first time I tried a Honda Tracked machine was early 1980's.
I said I have to give it a try, and aimed it into the worst frozen crap I could find, and it never even cared.
It took and chewed up solid ice pack 2 feet thick like nothing.
That's why they have the ice chewing teeth on the auger.
The tracks keep the machine level regardless what you aim it at.
You can drive it with one hand and eat a sandwich with the other.
I just used my neighbors MTD from Walmart. To help them out.
OH sure, it did the job on the fresh of snow, but when it hit the frozen pack the city pushed in at the end of the driveway, it wanted nothing to do with it.
I then had to spend 4 times longer dealing with it compared to if I had the Honda.
My back said never again.
If I hadn't pretreated all surfaces with silicone prior to taking it out, it would even been worse.
Sprayed inside the chute and all moving parts.
Then an air hose to blow it clean when done. The snow flies with less effort as well.
That's why you see machines look like junk after a couple seasons. Running then into the road salt, then put them away to melt.

The extra cost of the Honda is nothing compared to the $30,000 you need for therapy when done.
I almost made a video watching a guy do his sidewalk after it was walked on all day, and he was fighting it the whole way with a 2 wheeled machine with the handle bars diving into the ground.
The wheels dig in and sink, and the auger climb up.

If you ask me, it simply looks retarded and barbaric.
There's a used Honda track drive for sale right now for $1300, and if it's still there, it's mine.
Like one Gent mentioned, there's more to it.
Moving it around in the garage, well take a look at what people use to move snowmobiles around in the shop.
They are a tracked machine and need castered adaptors slipped under them as well. Not rocket science here.

The reason Hydrostatic drive machines don't move freely with engine off, is the same for all machines that use it. Safety for one. It cannot freewheel unless it has a freewheel option lever. You cannot force a Hydrostatic drive to roll with no power.