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How come Honda doesn’t build chainsaws?

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Ed_EOD

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I wish they built riding lawnmowers. They build push mowers, snow blowers, generators, trimmers, water pumps, and a bunch of different small engines starting at 25cc, but not a riding mower.
 

Dieselhammer

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Upstate New York
Because Honda's focus has always been on four strokes, they started out making reliable Single over head cam air coolers, got into two strokes in the 70's to stay relevant in racing, and then got away from them in the early 2000's. They pretty much want nothing to do with 2 strokes and its sad because everything they build is quality and i'm usually toting all USA products.
 

Ed_EOD

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Honda makes a 4 stroke string trimmer, can’t be too hard to adapt that to a 4 stroke chainsaw. Seems like chainsaws are just about the only thing left that the only legitimate options are 2 strokes. It’s only a matter of time.
 

CR888

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They have a chainsaw attachment (polesaw) for their multi system 4 stroke trimmer. Sadly 2 stroke is not where Honda is focussing on, hopefully that will one day change.
 

Samuel D

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Soichiro Honda hated two-stroke stinkwheels his whole life. So Honda had as little to do with the tech as the market allowed. And when two-strokes began to be legislated out of existence in various sectors, especially motorcycles, Honda was at the forefront of campaigning for that.

Direct injection makes two-strokes a lot cleaner but introduces a host of new problems in small engines, not least cost. KTM came up with a halfway house, transfer port injection, that they say has most of the upsides without the downsides. Remains to be seen whether that can extend the relevance of the two-stroke for anything but tiny niches.
 

Ole Slewfoot

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Freedom, CA
I wish they built riding lawnmowers. They build push mowers, snow blowers, generators, trimmers, water pumps, and a bunch of different small engines starting at 25cc, but not a riding mower.

What?

Honda's supercharged Mean Mower V2 recently broke the Guinness World Record for being the fastest accelerating lawnmower. Stunt driver Jess Hawkins took the modified grass cutter from zero to 100 mph in an average of 6.29 seconds on May 6 near Dresden, Germany, the company said Monday.Jun 12, 2019

9_110.jpg


https://www.topgear.com/car-news/ca...orlds-fastest-lawnmower-heres-the-build-story
 

vavet

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Ashland, VA
OP: I had the same sentiment a few years ago when we moved into our new home and I needed a riding mower. I didn’t want to buy a piece of ****, but didn’t want to overspend.
 

scubadoober

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I wish they built riding lawnmowers. They build push mowers, snow blowers, generators, trimmers, water pumps, and a bunch of different small engines starting at 25cc, but not a riding mower.

They did in the late 80's into the 90's. Even made garden tractors with diesel engines. Late in production they had a joint project with John deere, but it couldn't save the division. They stopped production in 2001. They had some very cool features, but were plagued by higher prices and poor distribution. You can still find them for sale. However part support is slim, and they used an ignition control module that is NLA. When it dies so does the mower so of the ones that are still running you are on borrowed time. Real shame. :( Here is some basic info on model numbers. https://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/tractor-brands/honda/honda-lawn-tractors.html
 
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P7M8

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Maryland
They did in the late 80's into the 90's. Even made garden tractors with diesel engines. Late in production they had a joint project with John deere, but it couldn't save the division. They stopped production in 2001. They had some very cool features, but were plagued by higher prices and poor distribution. You can still find them for sale. However part support is slim, and they used an ignition control module that is NLA. When it dies so does the mower so of the ones that are still running you are on borrowed time. Real shame. :( Here is some basic info on model numbers. https://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/tractor-brands/honda/honda-lawn-tractors.html

I have one of their riding mowers that has been in my storage container for years. It is a two cylinder and it runs smoother and quieter than most riding mowers. It also has a hydrostatic transmission. It is a really nice mower. The only reason I stopped using it is because I found a company to cut my acre of lawn for $45.00.
 

Showkey

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High power, high rpm and light weight are the key to a quality chain saw. Tough for a even the best 4 stroke to compete on all of those features.

For all practical purposes two strokes are being phased out........by the EPA.
There will two stroke chainsaws for the foreseeable future but it’s dying market not a growing market place.

For the casual home owner battery chainsaws have made great improvements in the last few years. Same for string trimmers.........
 

BarryWells

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Because nobody can compete with Husq...including Stihl .They don't build an all terrain dump truck either. Can't compete with Mack on that.
 

Chris Stapley

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gungatim

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Honda doesn’t have 2 stroke technology.

Laggards!

obviously you've never ridden an A50, P50, PA50, PA50II, Spree, Dio, SA50, or any of the other dozen 2-stroke scooters and motorcycles Honda built for decades.....
 

M6erfan

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rharman

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Widgeon

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Dec 30, 2014
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Stihl and Husky own the market share on a market that has very tight margins, why would honda pursue that when they can focus on cars and outboards
 

rustbucket5

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the 4 stroke engines they have, while very good and reliable. are a bit too big and lack the raw power of a 2 stroke for chainsaw duty. maybe a homeowner style saw but nothing commercial. but personally i prefer 4 stroke tech, not into 2 strokes but they have their place
 
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