[leeky]

hi folks! long time no post.

Going to see a Norlett rotovator tomorow.. it has a Honda engine and thats all i know about it.


Any good are they? bloke on the phone said it was about 6 foot long. lol

[Gwiz]

i used to sell these a long time ago. i thought they were a good machine, not as well known as the merry tiller, but just as well built.
parts may well be a problem now. you should find that it has a briggs and stratton engine, so parts for that shouldn't be to difficult to come by.
good luck, but don't pay silly money for it, you would be better off putting the money towards a new machine.

[leeky]

Hi gwiz. fetched it today. what a beast!

its got a 8hp honda on it (so the geezer said). so i assume it has been changed if it should have a B+S on it. But it seems fine. few issues, like the pull rope and slack carb bars etc, but i am sure a bit of fettling will have it looking great.
200 quid off a really nice old gent. taking it up the lottie in a bit to give it a go. took 2 to lift it onto the trailer but not too cumbersome to manhandle.

will post pics!  

[leeky]

great fun this thing. not an 8hp at all  :roll:  and i dont think its a norlett     but it has a norlett decal on the back.

171 cc i think on the engine.

when under a fair bit of load the tines can be made to stop, is this normal or am i trying to take too much of a bite? The belt needs changing as its a little slack, and i think 2 would be better, theres room on the pulley for more.

any idea about this one gwiz?  heres the pics.

[Bigbadfrankie]

Wow what cracker!!! looks like a Honda G200 engine without the pull start but what is the rest?

[shaun]

nice machine leeks well done.a bit much like my howard in the layout if i'm not mistaken it is a howard bantom/demon or a 200,is there a howard badge on the chasis
when you say theres room for another belt.on mine it has a second set of pulley wheels swapping the belt over to these gives you 2 faster speeds or 2 slower speeds if you know what i mean.

[leeky]

ta frank.

hey shaun. it can have 3 belts in total. 2 are exactly the same size and do the same thing, then there is an extra slot for a belt on the main bottom pulley.
there are 2 tensioner jockeys and 1 is dissconnected but the mechanism is there. have no idea abiut that one yet. I assume a lever goes up the bars from it.
it does seem to be a mix of allsorts. no reverse (well i havent found it yet if there is one)

cant see no howard badge either.

[Bigbadfrankie]

its far bigger than my 200 or bantam

[leeky]

Hmm. im not sure its the original colour either. there are splashes of orange paint around the place, handles etc. maybe a touch up?

what a headscratcher!

[leeky]

im off for a bath. im stinking! back later    

[shaun]

theres that many howards frankie as you know 200/220/300/350 might be a mix of all 4 have a look on ebay theres a couple that look a bit like it

http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?satitle=howard+rotavator&fcl=3&fcol=ship-off&fsop=3&fsoo=2&frpp=100

[Bigbadfrankie]

Pop to here and put your engine numbers in

http://www.honda-engines-eu.com/en/welcome.html

[leeky]

cool.

it does seem a bit howardish.

[Gwiz]

orange is the right colour for an ariens machine.
the honda engine isn't the original.
the fuel tank is from a suffolk colt lawn mower.
ariens where still being imported upto a few years ago, they are made in the USA.
as always you may have some fun and games getting original belts, while yours are still ok, measure them up and get a few spares.
great machine, far better than your average norlett (like the smaller ones i used to sell) well done you!

[leeky]

thanks for the info gwiz, fixed the throttle cable today. bit of a cable-tie fest but works ok now. controllable.

just a quick Q... is Norlett part of Ariens or vice versa? Why the two makes on there?