Hi all, I have had a look through the mower forums on LSJ but I have some fairly specific questions and need some advice. Basically I already own a Viking Mb 655 vm 21" and an Alko 5250hws. The viking has a briggs and stratton engine and the Alko a honda.
In my opinion the Alko with the honda engine seems to be a far better machine except for the forward speed which is pretty slow, the viking seems better on this one.
So basically what I am looking to do is sell the viking which is only a couple years old and replace it with something that fits this following criteria:
-21" cut or close to.
-preferably with a Honda engine.
-Good self propelled forward speed (can anyone vouch for Hayters system of matching your walking speed?)
-Mulching kit without having to change the blade like on the Alko.
-Easy to colapse handles but robust, like on the Alko
-Large grass box, preferably not solid like on the viking.
-fairly light weight like the Alko.
I have thought about going for another Alko but it's just the forward speed ( to many hills to push all the time!! haha) and i thought someone may have some better or equivalent options?. many thanks for any advice.
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Thanks Dan, will have a look. Chris, the viking I have has been used at work (county council school) the problems I have found with it are as follows:
- The build quality seems poor for a Stihl partner machine, very plasticy especially the grass box where the top handle at the back has come off, the grass box design is also slightly awekward compared to others.
-The Briggs engine also looks and sounds somehow poorer quality than the honda.
- had various bits spring off the engine around the throtle area especially cutting around bushes.
- no easy to fold handles
-you have to change the blade to mulch.
Not sure if others share these problems with the vikings, I have to admit I thought it would be a cracking machine as I had heard good stuff about them but to be fair i've been dissapointed compared to the Alko.
Has been a long time since i used it in the wet but if I remember it seemed o.k.
Thanks for all the input guys will have a good look at these. An addition nail in the viking coffin. One of our guys hit a hidden tree stump and not supprisingly broke the cast blade boss (the metal plate that the blade is bolted to). So I took it back to the deaslership where it satfor four months until fixed.
Anyway, I picked the machine up and when I went to use it yesterday.... bang! the same bit broke but without having done even 10mins work in very light grass! I couldn't believe it to the point where i thought they hadn't actually replaced the part,but they had as I looked and it was new!.
Back to the dealership today had a row with the boss and told him it was unexceptable, he said this was the first time anything like this had ever happened to a viking machine, however 5 mins before this I spoke to the guys in the workshop and they said there a load of s%$t and it happenes on some of the models with vari speed!!. Anyway I finally got the boss to contact the Stihl rep and send photos of the newly replaced broken part!. So on top of this with all the other little niggles with viking machines i'd say avoid if you can!!! sorry if you have a viking or like them, maybe i just have a friday afternoon machine!!.
just to jump in on this as i have been on the sidelines for a while due to no internet at home (which is when i am most active on here)
on any of the pr46 machnes regardless of push or drive / blade brake or not you can fit a mulch kit to them but you do need to change the blade (5 min job) and the mulch plug just sits in the ejection chute
also the pro46 range use a sheer washer not boss which costs about £1.15 and i and dealers always keep a big stock of these due to the ammount of machines out there already the same as any other common parts on the machines
hope everyone is doing well and nice and buisy and i will be back on as normall very very soon
roy parker said: