PART NINE - Significance & Assessment

The Victa Imperials were the first reel mowers sold by the Victa Company.
It would appear that it was Victa's John Mason that convinced Mervyn Richardson
that he should have a reel mower in the Victa line-up for the 1960s and beyond.
It was a safe bet; in that reel mower sales were still strong, and it was New
Zealand's Morrison that did most of the tooling.

There is some irony in that Mervyn Richardson's first foray into lawnmowers
was via the reel mower (not the rotary). The Victa 14 inch Reel Mower has not
been well documented, but was sold from about 1950 to early 1953. So, perhaps,
Merv did require some persuasion - to return to the reel mower design.

The Imperial was a success and clearly sold well - given the production
length, and the amount still regularly appearing on auction sites. It was
solidly built of quality components and of sound design. Though originally
a British Ransomes design, it was made under licence by New Zealand's great
Morrison Mowers. Victa would modify the design; most notably with the
introduction of the 2-stroke Imperials - with their distinctive handle bar
and fuel tank - that would give a fresh, modern look to the machine from 1973.

The main criticism of the Imperial seems to be its landroll speed - with
some users claiming that the user needed to 'run after it' when mowing.
That;s a little unfair. The 4-strokes, with their much flatter torque
curve and governed engines, could run at a lower RPM, thus reducing the
roller speed. The 2-strokes, with their ungoverned engine and sensitive
throttle control, required a little bit more finesse to achieve a lower
landroll speed.

The single-plate clutch could be slipped to achieve a varied landroll speed,
but its design made this difficult. Like automotive applications, it essentially
was slipped at take-off and then fully engaged. The clutch design did not permit
much sensitivity.

In any case, this issue - of a high landroll speed - was typical of
early powered reel mowers. I have argued on these forums that for
historical reasons a quick-pace speed of mowing was something
manufacturers would boast about: one could get more lawn mown at a
cheaper cost, and the gardener could then be employed on other duties.
That legacy was the Imperial's inheritance.

The rest is history.
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Jack

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