Saw this Video on Victa , you can see them looking at Pope ,Sunbeam ,Rover ,Electrolux, etc they say they looked at every mower manufacturer in the world to make a better mower.
$600,000 for tooling for steel bases and $60,000 for tooling to make alloy bases.
Its kind of funny, looking back that model is what undid Victa at least in my local shop. we had several of them that they couldn't sell. All that money they put into a complete redesign meant it was from memory more expensive than the base model Honda! Now that's a hard sell to the typical homeowner buyer.
I remember they tried to make the Razor really ergonomic with even a drink bottle holder in the handle. we definitely still sold more steel base victas 2 or 4 stroke. If the alloy base is so cheap to make why is it so expensive to sell?
Interesting footage, The models on the production line I don't really recognize, a mulch only base? was it an export model?
Also interesting to see the Key Electric in that bit of a collection
Was the base Honda steel or alloy though? They should have just re-introduced the thumb latch base in new colours. They were popular and very high end in appearance. Victa were mad to drop it in favour of a new one based on the steel design in 1992. It didn't get all the clippings into the catcher as well as the thumb latch. Their best alloy bases of all was the 1970s VC models which allowed you to insert the catcher into position before locking it on with the lever. This was made possible by the two piece rear flap, but Victa had to introduce one with the single piece flap, making it slightly more tricky to operate. The two piece flap base made it into the 1980s with the most premium models only before being quietly dropped when the Powertorque engine took over from the side pull full crank.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Interesting video - that said having read reviews on the mower it didn't seem overly well received. I wonder if rather than spending so much time looking online etc they'd have been much better served getting some people who actually USE mowers consulting with the design team. Seemed too much focus on making something new & different and not just a better quality mower.
I was reminded by this amusing clip of when Homer's very wealthy brother allowed him to design a new car for his company:
The Honda was Alloy; HRU19D. The only Honda with a steel base at the time was the HRC commercial model. Now is probably different though. I could be wrong but they were both around the $800 mark at the time
Yeah, great point on the design team. Engineers always seem to have a way of getting it wrong. Just look at the greenfield Friction drive. Theo was told by engineers it wouldn't work, no chance. It has now been in production for over 50 years.
I have a Husqvarna mulcher mower that looks half like this Victa Mulcher and half a Masport Mulcher mower .
Going by the tread on tyres of the old Victa Key Electric it must be like new.
It looks like they tried to make a better alloy base rear discharge mower but the reviews aren't great, I've got one here but never got around to cutting grass with it.
I was reminded by this amusing clip of when Homer's very wealthy brother allowed him to design a new car for his company:
Hello Max and all ODK Victa lovers Well, the first video said it all - they wanted to modernise the design - not necessarily improve it. There were too many constraints. In other words - this is a PR video for non-substantive change.
It is also a sad reflection that Victa had no in-house R&D at that time.
Having said that, Victa were still making great mowers at this time. I had a Razor with eco-torque 2-stroke and I liked it!
The Simpson video ...? I think that one reminds me of the Model 4 Automatic story.
Well, the first video said it all - they wanted to modernise the design - not necessarily improve it. There were too many constraints. In other words - this is a PR video for non-substantive change.
Yes it's true Jack they wanted to modernize the design, it's later on the director of Blue Sky Creative says Victa came to them to upgrade their mowers.
I can't see the Razor as being as bad as some people say, as it received an Australian Design Award in 2004 .
Victa says,the new design features an improved cutting system and a more ergonomic handle. Enhanced handling and a larger cutting diameter reduce the time and effort required by users when mowing. The mower has been designed to improve the efficiency of manufacture and assembly. .
I can definitely see how the Razor improved the efficiency of manufacture and assembly and the handle does look a more comfortable design..
I never heard anything necessarily bad about them, We never had any problems with them, for the most part was just another victa. The air filter was an awkward thing to get to from memory. I just believe because they out sourced the design it drove to price up too high and they didn't sell well. It looked great and I'm sure it had great features but you still have to sell them.
I did like that shape of handle, it was closer to the Honda design which was always nice to use. More like a steering wheel hand position than just a bar
Thanks Max, I saw this video a while back and was looking for it again to post........ Yes they got a big group of experts to make a impressive product to sell better. Not their own engineers .......... that's why we have all the freaky little problems with Victas..... speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
I have heard the Victa Razor isn't great at filling the catcher when the grass is wet ,I try to avoid cutting wet grass .
Yes the Masport Mulcher mower looks a good mower Norm ,I see a few people prefer to use these mowers instead off catching grass ,obviously they work a lot better if you cut the grass when it's not very long then you barely see the mulched grass after mowing.
Another Victa mower fabrication video ,this time for the steel base.
Thanks MF that is what I thought. The bloke I got the last lot of PT motors wanted plastic rear Victa doors. In the pile of motors there was a few of the Tornado type rear flaps. I said to him keep them and use them on his mowers, he said they wouldn't fit because they needed the Tornado style handelbar. Looks like proof above that they do fit
Hi NK, I'm about to toss away two steel bases which have the front axle locations chewed out but free of major rust spots, only surface rust. I wish you or somebody else willing to fix them could take them. They are useable but the front axles move up and down a fair bit.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I know MF, if you can't weld them up then there is not much you can do with them. All mowers suffer from this wear situation but I guess as the 2 strokes keep going the bases suffer from more wear in these spots. One thing I hate is floppy front wheels
I transferred the motor from the nearest one to a ute base I found. Motor ran great after cleaning carburettor. The motor on the other one has a worn main bearing with noticeable play (you can feel it move a tiny bit side to side when you grab the flywheel) but runs otherwise. The piston skirt appears to have several light scores (what you can see though a layer of dark oil). The bore looks clean. Starts easy and runs well otherwise but with slight grinding noise you can hear.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, I actually find upturned blades on utility mowers to be of benefit in thick wet growth - eg my Big Bob throws grass a good 40-60 cm moremost of these utes
I would suggest the specialty ute blades act more like a sickle (with the dip in the middle) and would be better for thick cane grass.
Unfortunately, most utilities were killed slashing, but a few were used for domestic lawns as you say. I would suggest the main case for a utility on a domestic lawn is either one or more of the following:
Regularly cut lawn so it acted like an early mulcher mower. Can't be stuffed about what the lawn/grass looks like (or didn't like emptying catcher) Didn't want to pay extra for a Charger or Commando with catcher The belief the engine will last longer if it isn't being worked harder to cut then catch (some truth in this)
Or (and I know this was one of my relatives reasoning behind this) was that he used 'toe cutters' for years and (having perfected the 'victa sweep' increasing circles mowing method) his wife was used to walking behind and raking up the clippings.
More likely he didn't want to spend the extra $50 on a catcher model though haha
Hi Tyler, another reason is they are much lighter to handle, apart from the fact you are not dragging a catcher full of grass around. I think their main use is on semi rural properties or around farm houses. Another thing they are used for is for trimming up around the edges after the main areas have been cut using a ride on
Hi NK and Tyler, Our neighbour across the street in the 1980s had a Scott Bonnar side throw with VP Briggs and it didn't look like much but when I had a go of it I found it satisfying seeing the clippings shot out the side when you ran over a patch. They got by fine with theirs but when I think back, they didn't have very thick lawn so raking wasn't necessary. It was my first exposure to a Briggs engine and I couldn't help liking it. Inversely the son remarked how easy it was to pull the rope on our Victa FC. That was the decompression valve at play, which I wasn't aware of at the time as I was only 13 at the time.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, when a Victa is set up right they start very easily, the bloke picked up his 24 this morning that I put a full crank on and he was super impressed, just lean on the pull start and it fires up. So much better than the PT's
