Reply With QuoteCan't speak for the Spirit, but I bought my dad a Harrier 41 a few years ago and it has been perfect for him
Evening All,
Just moved to a nice village from the city and now have two good lawns to cut.
Previously I had a local gardener cut my bumpy old lawn once a fortnight, but here I have two nice lawns that I’d like to tend to myself.
Have been to a local dealer to look at my options. Initially I was tempted by Stihl as I have one of their leaf blowers but I was really impressed with the Hayter build quality.
Looking at a Spirit 41 self-propelled mower to stripe my lawn. Any experiences good or bad of Hayter?
Can't speak for the Spirit, but I bought my dad a Harrier 41 a few years ago and it has been perfect for him
I’ve had a harrier 41 with a Briggs & Stratton engine for about 18yrs and it’s been faultless.
Hayter are generally excellent and a big step up from the ~£200 or so mowers in the big DIY sheds. I don't know specifically about the Spirit, I think it has a fair bit of plastic in it? My neighbour has a Harrier which we service every year and it's been going for years.
I've had a spirit 41 for 10years, never missed a beat. Yes it is a plastic cutting deck but no problems and no chance of it rusting. Engine is faultless and I've only just put a new filter and plug in it after 10 years. Not because it needed it but more so because I found a decent deal while browsing so thought why not.
Excellent machine
IMO Hayter aren't as good as they were , lots of compromises have been made regards to quality ie replacing metal parts with plastic. They are still decent machines but really only worthwhile if you want stripes on your lawn as a lot of them have rear rollers rather than wheels.
We have them at work and haven’t had any problems but they are the professional range
I bought a secondhand Hayter Harrier 48 about 5 years ago. I think that my particular version dates back to the late ‘90s. I’ve had it serviced a couple of times but it is currently overdue another service and a new blade. Regardless, it just keeps on chugging away.
I suggest that you try and source a decent secondhand one. Not only will it be much cheaper but it should benefit from the slightly better, older build quality.
I agree re. the rear roller, the OP specifically mentioned stripes. If this wasn't a requirement then I'd be looking at a Honda or Viking.Originally Posted by Liner33
As with most manufacturers nowadays, the 'quailty' end of the market generally still has a 'budget' offering too.
In my experience, the build quality of modern Honda mowers is now better than modern Hayter mowers. Albeit, Hayter are still a substantial cut above the your average Mountfield style mower, but that is also reflected in the pricing.
Check out the warranties offered too, as Hondas warranty was more generous than Hayter when I replaced my last mower.
Hayters are good enough for HM the Queen. That’ll do for me.
I've had a Hayter Harrier push version for the last 10 years and it was s/h when I bought it. Other than servicing no issues until now when I believe part of the roller support may have failed. As my repair guy can't fix it for 3 weeks I picked up a s/h Honda 476HRX. Although it's 14 years old it cuts and runs like a dream. Having had it a couple of weeks here are my initial thoughts
Honda /Hayter equally easy to start and engines run smoothly about the same noise level. Honda plastic deck Hayter aluminium. Honda has better features imo e.g you can keep the engine running but stop the blade when emptying the box. Honda has bigger grass box... but could do with a handle on top like the Hayter to help lift it.
I haven't had a chance to compare side by side on cutting but I understand the Hayter gives a slightly better cut but the Honda is considered to have the slight better engine. I have noticed the Honda seems to lift debris e.g leaves better than the Hayter
If you are buying new why not see if you have any lawnmower dealers nearby for a try out
Sent from my moto g(7) plus using Tapatalk
Last edited by Taxboy; 8th July 2020 at 12:30.
I live a couple of miles from the Factory, I'm pretty sure a large proportion of their product is no longer made in the UK, their ride-on's are made by Murray
Bought a Hayter when we moved for London 21 years ago and its still going strong. At the time I wondered if it was worth the £500 I seem to recall paying for it, but it just keeps going so very happy with it.
Thanks everyone!
Just place an order for the Spirit 41 auto drive on the back of the largely positive recommendations.
Honda engines are considered to be the most reliable but cost more. I've got that same model and am about 15 years in, starts first pull and just needs a service every 5 years or so to keep it ticking over. In that period my neighbour must have been through 3 or 4 cheaper mowers
I’ve still got my mums 20 year old Honda not the best but it’s made in France from plastic so maybe the modern ones have got better, conked out last year and the Honda dealer had to rebuild the carburettor
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