1st Drive Assessment
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It’;s absolutely terrifying. And we imply that in the very best way attainable.
You may possibly not be surprised to understand that there is an internationally recognized speed record for a ride-on lawn mower. Our human impulse for speed is such that there’s a record for pretty considerably something with an engine.
But you might quite effectively be surprised to understand that the record, which was set earlier this year utilizing this heavily modified Honda mower, now stands at 116 mph. Obtaining now driven it—or ridden it, or whatever—we’re flabbergasted.
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A lot more than Meets the Eye—But Not Truly
Simply because this isn’t, as you might expect, a objective-built record-setting vehicle that is been produced to appear like a lawn mower. No, it is a lawn mower rebuilt to stand some opportunity of holding together at speed and with the engine from a Honda VTR Super Hawk motorcycle—but it’s nevertheless fundamentally a piece of garden machinery. It drives sufficient like a lawn tractor to make 30 mph feel positively daring and 60 mph outrageously quick. The man who drove it to a speed of almost 2 miles per minute, a British journalist named Piers Ward, clearly had either no fear or no imagination. Or a lot more most likely, none of either.
The Mower was built in the U.K. by the group that runs Honda’s cars in the British Touring Automobile Championship, Team Dynamics. It’s primarily based on a Honda HF2620 riding mower, but has been provided a new chassis made from higher-strength steel, suspension and wheels from a Honda ATV, and 4-wheel braking. The 109-hp 996-cc V-twin engine was selected for its mixture of power and the capacity to match in the space left by the regular tractor’s 20-hp V-Twin. The transmission is a bike-derived 6-speed sequential gearbox with electric actuation, and it drives an ATV rear axle via a chain. There’s no reverse gear, but as the Mower is said to weigh just 308 pounds without having a rider, it doesn’t really require a single.
One of the stipulations for the Guinness planet record is that the mower has to still be capable of cutting grass. To that end, the Imply Mower has a bolt-on fiberglass cutting deck comprehensive with 2 electric motors operated from the 12-volt electrical method and which can be separately bolted on or off as required. (It typically runs without the deck.) The company claims the Mower can reduce grass at up to 15 mph—twice the top speed of the regular HF2620. The space normally occupied by the clippings bag includes the fuel tank, radiator, and an added oil cooler.
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About the Drive . . .
We aren’t going to be setting any records nowadays. The official run was carried out on the 1.2-mile-long straight at the IDIADA test track in northern Spain, even though Honda has invited us to the significantly tighter environs of the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire, England. And we’re warned that the Imply Mower doesn’t like corners—it’s been made exclusively for straightline speed.
Basically getting onto it is the 1st challenge. The regular tractor’s groundskeeper-spec seat was binned in the transformation and a Cobra racing kart seat installed in its location. The concept, of course, is to hold its occupant securely in place, especially if they’re lightweight 14-year-old F1 wannabes. But the squeeze of forcing your self into the seat (if you’re not a 14-year-old F1 wannabe) is absolutely nothing compared to the challenge of receiving your feet in proximity to the extensively spaced throttle, brake, and clutch pedals, all of which require you to practically bend your legs in half. It is like attempting to uncover a comfy driving position in a medieval torture device.
Continued…
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