Honda Diamond Cut Izy 18 inch

I never appreciated how good my old Atco Viscount 19S was until the housing broke and forced a new purchase. The Honda Diamond Izy is a French built (or assembled) 18inch self drive 4-wheel rotary mower. It is very simple to set up and start using - it takes just a couple of minutes. The engine is sublime and so easy to use. It's also quieter than some Briggs engines. One fairly gentle pull and it is away - remembering to turn ON the fuel tap (something my old Briggs and Stratton didn't have). No priming, no setting. Just one pull and go. The autochoke really works well.

The cutter deck is thickly painted and is thicker than most other makes. It is welded in places and not a one piece affair like an Al-Ko. Only time will tell if it lasts - though it feels as though it will. The wheels are off a good size and drive well. Height adjustment is easy to operate with a lever at the front and one at the back. Both should be adjusted to the same setting to ensure the deck remains level.

The self-drive speed is too slow for me. I like to get on with the job and I find the slow drive (one metre per second) to be too slow. It does seem to match the cutting speed and the finish is excellent. I think the drive speed would be ideal for older users who have more time to mow. Certainly the speed is much to slow for a contractor. Younger or more energetic mowers with 1/4 or 1/3 acre to mow might wish for something quicker.

Grass collection is excellent. The fabric collection bag is a tad on the small side at 55l but it doesn't half pack the grass in well. It certainly packs in more grass than a 60l plastic box I've used in the interim. Also, removing and replacing the grass bag is not as fiddly as it is on some but again it's not as easy as on the old Atco Viscount.

A nice touch is a rubber 'skirt' which trails at the rear of the deck and brushes along the lawn. I presume it's there to stop things from shooting out from inside the cutter deck.

The Diamond version of the Izy is a special edition which includes a muching kit - not currently available as a separate optional extra. The kit comprises much more than just a mulch plug. You get an additional straight blade and two special fixing bolts as well as the much plug. Full instructions are provided but basically, the original blade is removed and the mulch blade is attached, then the original blade and both are then fixed with the new bolts. The bolts should be tightened to a recommended torque so a torque wrench would be required to do the job correctly.

Overall, the mower feels solid and well put together. The cut, finish and collection are excellent and the engine is Honda so is there anything else to say.