OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Reel Lawn Mowers, Atco & Villiers etc. Yardstar Reel Mower

Hello all,
Between our backyard, front yard and verge we have approx 200sqm of new Palmetto buffalo lawn and pretty soon am going to need a mower.

At one of the Bunnings stores I went to they have a brand new Yard Star 470mm (18.5"?) reel mower for $999 clearance price.
Then there are these two used 20" Masport reel mowers selling on my local gumtree site,
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/malaga/lawn-mowers/olympic-masport-reel-mower-500-20-/1027557022
and
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cann...olympic-500-lawnmower-3hp-vgc/1027768546

Would the Masports for $600-$650 be better quality and value than the new Yard Star mower?

cheers.

Hi Phantoma, welcome to Outdoorking. Our main reel mower guy is Deejay, and I'm sure he'll catch up with this thread before long. I'll just offer a couple of interim comments on the engines involved.

First, the Olympic Masport mowers shown in those two ads both have Tecumseh engines. This is not a very attractive feature of the mowers. Tecumseh went out of the engine business a few years ago, and their engines were not popular in Australia before that. Now that the availability of spare parts is potentially difficult, they are even less popular.

Second, the Yard Star model may be a complete orphan, not just its engine. I can't find any mention of it on the internet. At a guess it will be a Chinese product which Bunnings picked up briefly, perhaps invented a brand for or just followed the made-up brand attached by the importer, and then dropped. Such products may have off-brand components, and no technical support or spare parts. Worse, unbranded Chinese products are not-infrequently inaccurate copies of someone else's products, which are in an underdeveloped state when initially marketed. Some of them may then be produced for years, meanwhile improving in both design and production quality, but that will not help those who buy early versions. Usually their engines are copies of either Briggs and Stratton or Honda equivalents, but some corners may have been cut along the way. Without pictures of the machine I can't guess what engine has been used in this case.

Let's see what Deejay has to say.

Hi Phantoma, and a warm welcome to the forum.
I completely agree with grumpy's comments....The Tecumseh engined mowers are not a good investment, and the Yard Star, no info available.
For best value in the second hand market, a Briggs and Stratton engined Scott Bonnar, in my opinion would be the best way to go.

Once again Phantoma, to OutdoorKing.

Thanks for the replies guys.
It could have been a Star branded reel mower.
First thing in the morning I'll go back to Bunnings and take a few close up photos of it and upload them. I couldn't do it today because I was at work.

Pity about the motor on the Masports. The 20" sounds like a good size for domestic use.

Btw, do those segmented little front rollers make the mower easier to turn than a single front roller?

Is a 17" Scott Bonner or 17" Rover 45 a bit small for my lawn area? There seems to be a few of those advertised in gumtree.

cheers.

Hi again Phantoma, to answer your questions...no the segmented front rollers do not make it easier to turn....that is the job of the split rear roller....in fact all Scotties (domestic and industrial) have a one piece front roller, with the exception of the (badge engineered) Morrison mower from New Zealand (almost a direct copy of the Victa Imperial)

To your second question, you will find the 17" Model 45 Scotty/Rover quite suitable for your size lawn, but of course, a 20" Model 45 would mow it a trifle quicker. I have found that my 17" Scotty is a very versatile machine having recently used it commercially as a favour to a friend.

Thanks Deejay,

I went back to Bunnings and the $999 reel mower I saw before is actually a YardStar ST17. It looks like a 17" copy of Scott Bonnar/Rover 45 and it's made in China.

The address of the distributor was on the instruction manual and only one block away from the Bunnings store.
So I went there on the way home but what I saw was an Electrical store with no signage for YardStar.

I've uploaded some photos of the mower but I think I'll pass on the YardStar and get myself a 17" Scott Bonnar/Rover 45 reel mower. At first I thought 17" might be on the small side but after seeing the YardStar ST17 it should be a comfortable size for the 3 sections of lawn we have.

Also, is the Rover 45 a newer version/variant of the Scott Bonnar mower and what do you think of a used Alroh 17" mower compared to a used Rover 45/Scott Bonnar?











Does anyone have an opinion of this victa 4-stroke lawn edger being sold at Bunnings for $289?
http://www.bunnings.com.au/victa-85cc-4-stroke-tornado-edger_p3380302


cheers.

That helps us to identify the engine on that YardStar STA 17. It is a chonda 160F (a Chinese unlicensed copy of a Honda GX120 or GX160 - the name 160F is somewhat generic. The one on the YardStar is a GX120 copy). Here is the 160F:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/1067888584/160F_Gasoline_engine.html?s=p

Here is the Honda GX160:
http://www.justgenerators.co.uk/pages/Honda_GX160_Engine.htm

Here is the Honda GX120:
http://www.cometkartsales.com/store/engine/images/GX120.jpg

With most chondas many of the parts are interchangeable with Honda ones, but unfortunately the deviations from Honda are unpredictable which makes spare parts a sort of lucky dip. Note the Chinese advertisement says "No overseas service provided".

Hi Phantoma, I personally prefer the Scott Bonnar/ Rover option rather than the Alroh...I know that all parts are still available for the Model 45.
Regarding the Victa edger, I have never had experience with that model...The one I have, I bought second-hand, it is a full-crank 160cc Series 80 Victa Tilt-A-Cut and I purchased it on eBay and did a cosmetic restoration. I wouldn't part with it...it does a fantastic job of the edges.

I've had a look at one of those YardStar Scott Bonnar copies in a local mower shop and I wasn't too impressed with the quality. I remember grabbing the clutch lever and it felt like it would break within a week. Other parts such as the catcher seemed pretty good. I'd think a used Rover/Scott Bonnar for half the money is good way to go.

I have to agree with Deejay on the Tilt-A-Cut also. I have a full crank and a later power torque and they're both great machines to work with

Hello grumpy,
I took the fuel cap off the Yardstar just for a look and it took me close to a minute to get it back on because the machining of the lugs on the cap and the slots on the tank are not precise. The cap is made of pretty thin material as well.

I have a generator with a real Honda 5hp motor to compare it with.

EDIT:
Thanks Deejay and rolla16v.
Yes, I'm not too sure about the design of the Bunnings Victa tornado lawn edger. It looks bulky and the blade seems to be back a bit. I want one with a blade that's more forward so that it will be easier to guide it and can also get into corners a little more at fence lines.

The Victa tilt-a-cut looks pretty good to me. Like this one.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VICTA-2-...in_15&hash=item2c72ecd5c2&_uhb=1

I just need to find one in Perth.

cheers all.

Hi again Phantoma, and thanks for posting the pics and the info on the Yardstar....I looks to be a cheap knock-off of the Scotty 45. I am glad you didn't go there mate!

Re: the Victa Tilt-A-Cut, just keep your eye on eBay and Gumtree, I am sure one will pop up eventually in your area, and at a reasonable price.

I missed out on two Rover 45 mowers in nice condition and with B&S motors.
It could be a problem if I can't get to the sellers until the weekend.

I can't even post links for the two ads with photos because they've been taken down already by the sellers.

One of the seller actually restores Rover 45 mowers to original condition with new decals even and, if necessary, a new B&S motor.
He took my details and promised to contact me in a week or two when he completes his next one but he also took other interested buyers details as well.
He also said that Rover are thinking of bringing back the Rover 45 model.

cheers.

That would be very surprising, as Rover no longer manufactures mowers in Australia, and apparently disposed of all the jigs and dies for the Model 45, prior to the factory closing down in Brisbane.
Most probably, it will be a badge engineered Protea or Star or whatever....made in China.

How long ago was that Deejay and does that mean no new parts are available for the Rover 45 mower?

cheers.

That would be at least 3 years (possibly longer)ago, but parts are still readily available...Scott Bonnar parts are synonymous with the Rover (as Rover took over Scott Bonnar) just check out our OutdoorKing online store in site links in the left-hand navigational panel under Scott Bonnar Parts List...

There are many avenues to source parts...This is close to my heart, as I own a Model 45!
I will send you a PM with details.

Thanks Deejay will do,

Also, how can I tell if a Rover 45 is only 5 yrs old or is 15 years old?
Is there any discernible cosmetic/design features between new and old?

I found another seller who says he has one that is 5yrs old which has a 10 blade cutting reel.

cheers.

When Scott Bonnar morphed into Rover-Scott Bonnar and then the SB name was dropped altogether...the Model 45 continued to be manufactured albeit with a new colour scheme (red) and was called the Rover 45.
As with all Scott Bonnars, establishing an exact date of manufacture of the mower frame (chassis), less the engine, is impossible.

However, both SB and Rover use the Briggs and Stratton engine, and luckily they do have a date of manufacture as part of the string of numbers stamped on the cooling air cowl of every engine, This will help us guage the age of the machine to roughly a ball-park figure, providing of course that the engine has not been replaced.
All you need to do is get the owner to quote you the complete set of numbers on the air cowling, and we can tell you the date.

Regarding the cylinder reel, the 20" Scotty had an 8 blade reel as standard....but the 10 blade has been also been an option....and also available after-market.

Thanks Deejay,
I'll ask him to look for that string of numbers.

cheers.

Hi Phantoma,

As Deejay has suggested the code on the cowling will give the best indication of manufacture - provided the engine is original. I've noticed that the newer models have the later Rover decals (newer logo), a plastic cover over the clutch assembly, yellow pin stripe on the catcher decal and no metal ID plate on the rail (sticker instead). It's highly unlikely that anyone would want to make their mower look older so those things should check out also. There is always a possibility that a 20 year old rover has had a 5 year old engine fitted to it...

Phantoma, I'll throw in another point that you might or might not care about: the older an SB45 is, the more collectible it is, and in many ways the better it was designed and built. The design changes made along the way did a good job of making it cheaper to manufacture, but a bad job of making it durable.

Hi Michael, yes mate, I alluded to that possibility in my post also...that a replacement engine could have been fitted at some stage....but before Phantoma purchases any machine, I would like them to take a series of pics, so that we can assess the machine for general condition; including cylinder reel, chains and sprockets etc. This will give us a rough idea of the age of the machine.

Hi grumpy, I notice that you are referring to the Scott Bonnar Model 45 which has 2 build standards...eg. the Series 1 (as we have labeled it) has a solid engine deck and brass fittings, and the Series 2, twin rail engine deck and alloy and plastic fittings.
The Rover 45's (as far as I know) only had 1 build standard, but decorative subtle cosmetic changes applied during their run.

What is of importance is the fact that Phantoma is in Western Australia, where the prices (second hand) are considerably higher than the eastern states, and availability is less than we enjoy here.

I may be wrong Deejay, but I have the impression that the Rover version contained some additional cheapening features, such as a single row self aligning bearing on the clutch shaft, instead of the two row one used on both SB versions of the mower. I have a feeling there may have been other negative developments. That would, simplistically, give us three versions of the mower over time, each of which was inferior to the one that came before. Perhaps we could even say that the SB45 itself may have been inferior to its predecessor, the SB33?

The problem of high prices and limited availability for the older SB45s in WA has been highlighted at least once before. I tend to see this as more of a logistical problem than a barrier though. There should be some way to get a mower transported to WA.

Hello guys and thanks for all that info,
One of the sellers I can meet with on the weekend sent me a couple of photos via the mobile phone. He also said he was going to SMS me the serial numbers as soon as he got home. Still waiting on that part.

This is the Rover 45 that is apparently only 5yrs old. It has a plastic cover over the clutch like rolla16v mentioned. Only 5yrs old?
He's asking $750 and keep in mind everything is more expensive in Perth. Don't know why.

cheers.

Hi Phantoma,

It certainly looks to be late model. The briggs numbers will give a clearer idea. The 10 blade reel is a nice bonus as they are around $400 to buy new.

Perhaps ask if he can send you a picture with the chain cover removed - I'm sure Deejay can give you a much better idea of the mowers condition then.

Best of luck with your purchase!

Hi to John (Phantoma) and to Michael (Rolla16V), that looks to be a sweet mower and appears to be a late model, as far as I can tell from a pic....everything seems to be OK, though I would like a peek inside the chain-case, but the over-all condition looks to be a good buy!

I'm reluctant to ask him to do that because he seemed a little annoyed when I asked him for the serial numbers.
I'm still waiting on those and it's been 5 hrs since he said he would SMS them.
I actually asked if I could phone back in a couple of hours and he could call them out to me but he said he'll text me when he has them.

cheers.

Hi John, it will be handy if you get the numbers, but everything appears to be in order with the engine, it looks to be a fairly new model.
Obviously you will get a peek at them before you purchase.

The numbers will appear something like this:
Model 92908 Type 5185 01 Code 8708 2004. The numbers that you are interested in, I have underlined. That reveals a manufacturing date of the 20th August 1987.
Happy hunting John,

Thanks Darryl that's a big help if I have to decipher the numbers by myself.

If the mower is actually only 5 yrs old and starts and runs nice then I'll pay him the asking price but if it turns out to be older then I'll offer $700.

I won't forget what you told me to take the side cover off and check for pointy sprockets.

cheers.

Hi again Phantoma, its the small sprocket at the top of the chain case that is usually worn the most, and when it is worn out, it is so 'pointy', that the edge of the point is so sharp, you could almost slice your finger open if you weren't careful.
However, with this machine, I'll bet everything will be fine!
Happy hunting, John....Please let us know how you get on.