Hayter, you could not make it up!

Just watched on YT the launch of the "new and improved" Hayter 56 Pro.

We have run these for around 4 years as they suited our sites, weight, and short handle length.

Had issues with grass build up around roller scraper bar to the extent the roller would jam, took this up with Hayter and response was " in certain climatic conditions grass will build up, reduce forward speed and raise cutting height" They have now acknowledged the issue on launching the new model , and what have they done moved the scraper away from the roller to such an extent that it looks like the bar will do nothing to clear grass from the roller! Genius!

The presentation then goes onto say that the wet collection was an issue and this was due to forward speed being inappropriate for wet grass, the machine has variable speed so they must think we are thick and mowing at full speed in the wet? So they have put the 3 speed gearbox from the Toro prostripe on the new machine ( to those who don't know the prostripe is basically the same albeit with Kawasaki engine). We had a prostripe on demo and the gearbox ratios are awful, speed 1crawl, 2 slightly quicker crawl and 3 run! The other issue is that the drive when engaged, snatches making mowing around obstacles a challenge when you want to feed the drive in gently. As we all know fabric boxes are crap and need washing out, why oh why have they not put a plastic box on this would have sorted the issue instead of removing the variable speed which is great and has none of the issues of the 3 speed box or is that too simple for the skilled engineers at Hayter?

The handles are non height adjustable on both the new and old machines, when I raised it with Hayter " we find that operators keep the height the same" totally missing the point that you can't adjust them in the first place ! And takes no account of multiple operators of different statures requiring the handles at differing heights, yes you could not make it up!

Be interesting to see whether Hayter respond to this post, if so it will probably be the usual generic corporate reply saying " we have undertaken thorough and extensive testing and taken on board feedback from numerous users to improve the Hayter 56 Pro so that it is a machine for all conditions and operators"

I've been running a Toro ProStripe 560 for several years. I bought it mainly because of the 3 speed belt driven gearbox so I have control over the speed and the ability to feather the clutch, so to speak. It also lays down nicer stripes than the 21" professional Honda roller mower, which has a shaft driven single-speed roller gearbox with a toothed clutch, so it's either "stop" or "go at full speed" and if you try feathering it it wears down the teeth. Having moved from the Honda to the Toro and used the Toro for several years, I don't share your frustrations with the Toro lurching forward when the roller drive is engaged.

I totally agree with your sentiments about the roller scraper bar and I don't have anything to add. I don't know what the solution would be.

Coming from using the Honda, other places the Toro is a letdown is how high the top of the engine is from the ground (a Honda fits under post and rail fencing, the Toro often does not) although I am aware this is partially due to the extra height required for the belt drive to the gearbox and the mechanism to allow the blade to slip rather than bend.

Most notably, I've mowed lawns during torrential downpours and through literal puddles with my old Honda and it collects grass fine, whereas the Toro struggles if the grass is even slightly long or if there's a small amount of dew. To be fair, my Honda had the engine speed turned up, but that doesn't explain such a vast difference. This isn't an issue of driving speed, it's an issue of blade and deck design. The Honda has a much higher lift design of blade, though it is noisier (especially if you use the extra effective eBay blades with no holes in the fins!). The Honda has a spacious underside to the deck with curved corners whereas the Toro and Hayter have right angled corners. This issue of inadequate lift is exacterbated by the Toro/Hayter having a larger roller so needing to lift the clippings higher into the bag. Because the Toro doesn't pick up well, this then further exacerbates the problems with the (rather tall) bag not collecting much. I often find myself shoving clippings to the back of the bag a couple of times before emptying it if a lawn has grown much.

My gripes with the bag design are really gripes with modern mower bag design in general. The old Honda bags from several decades ago were the same breathable material all over with a sensible sized Honda logo. Very effective, as fabric bags go, and I prefer fabric bags personally. The Toro bag has one of those silly bits of fabric on top that's marketed as a "fill indicator" but really just impedes airflow, has big "Toro" logos on both sides which make that patch of fabric completely non-porous, and uses a tighter knit fabric on the sides anyway so basically the only way for air to escape is through the back of the bag, so once the back is either blocked with fine particles of dirt or just covered with grass clippings, airflow is greatly impeded. I often wedge something between the top of the bag and the grass flap to improve airflow and allow the bag to fill better.

The lack of adjustable handles was a slight surprise to me as a 6'2" guy, on a machine in this day and age, though not a dealbreaker.

Another gripe with the Toro is the design of the front wheel mounts. On the Toro these are both welded onto a bar, so both front wheel mounts are one large part. The axles themselves are just plug welded into plates and I found the front wheels bent out of alignment very easily and one eventually broke off. After I had the part replaced under warranty, I took it straight off and had someone weld around the axles on the other side of the plate, and I've had no issues since. The front wheel mounts for the Honda are each a small plate with an axle also only plug welded and I've also had issues with them bending and breaking, but they're separate small parts for each front wheel so are cheap (£10-20) and easy to replace. Parts like this need to be either a) designed to not be able to be broken or b) designed to be cheaply and easily replacable.

I recognise the Toro is marketed for golf courses and the like and I'm a gardener who tends to use my machines hard, but these issues are clearly shared with the Hayter 56 Pro. My Hayter 41 Pro also shares the issues with poor clipping collection though perhaps not quite as bad as the Toro.

When I was looking at mowers I considered the Weibang, but the sticking-out-to-the-sides grass bag hooks combined with the shape of the handles were an absolute dealbreaker for me since I often drop or lift the bag between the handlebar and I can see that bit of design getting in my way.

There's a good reason why Honda haven't redesigned their mowers in decades. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If Honda made a 21" roller mower with a hydrostatic gearbox, I'd order one today.

I'm just waiting on replacement roller bushings for my Toro, again, so I can start mowing. Last time I replaced them my dealer told me you're supposed to clean the mower after every use to prevent this part of this professional machine wearing out. ...What?!!

All this to say that the Toro/Hayter is good for what it's designed for - a dry lawn that is mown every week to 10 days, where it lays down very crisp stripes - but struggles in conditions outside of that.

Replies

PRO

John Wallwork April 10, 2025 at 11:11am

I've been running a Toro ProStripe 560 for several years. I bought it mainly because of the 3 speed belt driven gearbox so I have control over the speed and the ability to feather the clutch, so to speak. It also lays down nicer stripes than the 21" professional Honda roller mower, which has a shaft driven single-speed roller gearbox with a toothed clutch, so it's either "stop" or "go at full speed" and if you try feathering it it wears down the teeth. Having moved from the Honda to the Toro and used the Toro for several years, I don't share your frustrations with the Toro lurching forward when the roller drive is engaged.

I totally agree with your sentiments about the roller scraper bar and I don't have anything to add. I don't know what the solution would be.

Coming from using the Honda, other places the Toro is a letdown is how high the top of the engine is from the ground (a Honda fits under post and rail fencing, the Toro often does not) although I am aware this is partially due to the extra height required for the belt drive to the gearbox and the mechanism to allow the blade to slip rather than bend.

Most notably, I've mowed lawns during torrential downpours and through literal puddles with my old Honda and it collects grass fine, whereas the Toro struggles if the grass is even slightly long or if there's a small amount of dew. To be fair, my Honda had the engine speed turned up, but that doesn't explain such a vast difference. This isn't an issue of driving speed, it's an issue of blade and deck design. The Honda has a much higher lift design of blade, though it is noisier (especially if you use the extra effective eBay blades with no holes in the fins!). The Honda has a spacious underside to the deck with curved corners whereas the Toro and Hayter have right angled corners. This issue of inadequate lift is exacterbated by the Toro/Hayter having a larger roller so needing to lift the clippings higher into the bag. Because the Toro doesn't pick up well, this then further exacerbates the problems with the (rather tall) bag not collecting much. I often find myself shoving clippings to the back of the bag a couple of times before emptying it if a lawn has grown much.

My gripes with the bag design are really gripes with modern mower bag design in general. The old Honda bags from several decades ago were the same breathable material all over with a sensible sized Honda logo. Very effective, as fabric bags go, and I prefer fabric bags personally. The Toro bag has one of those silly bits of fabric on top that's marketed as a "fill indicator" but really just impedes airflow, has big "Toro" logos on both sides which make that patch of fabric completely non-porous, and uses a tighter knit fabric on the sides anyway so basically the only way for air to escape is through the back of the bag, so once the back is either blocked with fine particles of dirt or just covered with grass clippings, airflow is greatly impeded. I often wedge something between the top of the bag and the grass flap to improve airflow and allow the bag to fill better.

The lack of adjustable handles was a slight surprise to me as a 6'2" guy, on a machine in this day and age, though not a dealbreaker.

Another gripe with the Toro is the design of the front wheel mounts. On the Toro these are both welded onto a bar, so both front wheel mounts are one large part. The axles themselves are just plug welded into plates and I found the front wheels bent out of alignment very easily and one eventually broke off. After I had the part replaced under warranty, I took it straight off and had someone weld around the axles on the other side of the plate, and I've had no issues since. The front wheel mounts for the Honda are each a small plate with an axle also only plug welded and I've also had issues with them bending and breaking, but they're separate small parts for each front wheel so are cheap (£10-20) and easy to replace. Parts like this need to be either a) designed to not be able to be broken or b) designed to be cheaply and easily replacable.

I recognise the Toro is marketed for golf courses and the like and I'm a gardener who tends to use my machines hard, but these issues are clearly shared with the Hayter 56 Pro. My Hayter 41 Pro also shares the issues with poor clipping collection though perhaps not quite as bad as the Toro.

When I was looking at mowers I considered the Weibang, but the sticking-out-to-the-sides grass bag hooks combined with the shape of the handles were an absolute dealbreaker for me since I often drop or lift the bag between the handlebar and I can see that bit of design getting in my way.

There's a good reason why Honda haven't redesigned their mowers in decades. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If Honda made a 21" roller mower with a hydrostatic gearbox, I'd order one today.

I'm just waiting on replacement roller bushings for my Toro, again, so I can start mowing. Last time I replaced them my dealer told me you're supposed to clean the mower after every use to prevent this part of this professional machine wearing out. ...What?!!

All this to say that the Toro/Hayter is good for what it's designed for - a dry lawn that is mown every week to 10 days, where it lays down very crisp stripes - but struggles in conditions outside of that.
- Peter sellers > John Wallwork April 10, 2025 at 12:24pm
  
  John, thanks for your well considered reply and agree ( mostly) . The variable speed on the 56 I still feel is better than the 3 speed but anyway Hayters presentation on the "new 56" I found to be the usual corporate bullshit that you can expect from them, as you say the blade,box and deck design are fundamentally flawed on either machine and they think that putting a 3 speed box on the 56 will be an instant panacea without actually admitting that the design is crap!
- Peter sellers > John Wallwork April 10, 2025 at 1:22pm
  
  Agree with you on the Honda and as we cetainly will not be buying a prostripe or new 56 stsrted to look for optiond the only thing we have found is the Lawnflite / Cobra 553HRSP-HST which has variable hydrostatic drive but the handles are very long! And we will struggle to configure in our vans with all the kit we carry and don't want to be folding the handles constantly due to cable damage, also the fixed speed Lawnflite,Kaaz,Cobra, Shanks do have a reputation for gearbox failure whether the hydrostatic is of a similar ilk is a gamble and no adjustable handles again for us short arses.