Hi grumpy,i totally understand and did not think about the strength of the gear box but when you are mowing in forward and you need to go backwards a few feet(meters) its a pain in the but to disingage the blades then re-engage to go forward.i was thinking mainly about the force you are putting on the blade belt and the blade pully brakes.you have a point though so i will re connect the switch and try to mow smartly in a forward motion and clean up bits i miss with the push mower.thanks for your input and could of saved me a lot of dollors by not destroying the gear box...ken
