I've had my honda for 11 years now and it's still going strong. I flog my mower over stones, tree roots, long grass, sticks etc and it loves it. Only had it serviced twice in that time. I have always had large yards 1000sqm + in Darwin and NSW.
Only problem I have had is the bolts on the handle come loose occasionally, the starter cord broke once and I change the air filter every 2 years.
I just clean it with the blower vac before i put it away. If you want a reliable, rugged, maintenance free mower get a Honda.
Starts first time
Rugged unit
no mixing fuel
little maintenance needed

A good solid mower that should work for many years, just keep good fuel up to it and keep it serviced and it should last for a long time. I'd recommend it, provided you use the best fuel.
Usually starts first time, runs well and cuts well. Very solid, well built. Can see it lasting for many years to come.
Not as powerful as I expected from a big four stroke, in really thick tall grass it still struggles. Then I ran it once on bad fuel before I knew the fuel was bad, and been struggling with misfires ever since. Only use premium fuel. Also some of the paint is coming off the base in areas that never touch anything in the yard.

This is my first mower and after tossing up between Talon (Dont you ever buy one - reports are shocking) and decided to spend the extra $ on a mower. What got me was that the salesman stacked his reputation on 99% of all professional gardeners using Honda and you know what he's right. Driving to work everyday seeing different gardeners at it, they all use Honda !

Enjoy it you wont regret it.
Amazing easy to start. In fact every time and its easy to clean and has incredible power.
Only very minor is the steel push handle and don't like the feel of steel after an hour mowing. So if you do buy it get some foam/rubber tube from Clark Rubber and slide it on. Works a treat !

my grandfather contracted with the same honder hru194 that i now use for 17 years. when he up graded to a hru19r1 he had problems with oil leaks out of the governor vain linkage and sump gasket. when he returned it for service he was told that it was nothing to worry about and to continue using it. after 10 hours of use it leaked 1/2 of its total oil capacity in one week of sitting unused, so he demanded that it was fixed. it was repaired under warranty. since then he hasn’t had any major problems accept for a occasional air filter. and yes my Honda is still going strong after 21 years of service.
easy starting, easy to maintain, good solid construction
air filter gets bloked easily, service and parts is very costly

i would only buy honda mowers, pay the extra money for it, you cannot regret it. i have used this mower on 1 acre block in dust rocks and left in the rain and in the sun. still works perfect
very good product never goes wrong always reliable
the warning sticker peeled off after about 2 years, thats all

Overall if your looking for a lawn mower that will last you more then a year. will save you a tiny bit of money on gas which is good in this economy and is light weight then i recommened this lawn mower. Although i say this there are way better lawn mowers out there that have better performance quilitly that in my opion and my dads that will do the job a whole lot better
This lawnmower is very light weight. It has amazing life spane and takes up a fraction of the gas that most lawn mowers do.
The lawn mower is push not automatic.

I recommend the Honda.
An excellent mower. I have owned it for 12 years. Starts first time. Quite and reliable. It is on its second spark plug but only because I decided to do a service on the mower and replaced the air cleaner and plug at the same time. It is quite and very economical on fuel, infact incredibly so. The spark plug and the air cleaner are the only things I have ever replaced. I expect it should do another ten years or even more.
It can feel a little heavy at times. There are lighter mowers on the market. Expensive, but a cheaper mower is not better value.