[sybaritic]

Hello all - I'm new to the board, have had a check and can't find anything related to this, so wondered if someone can help.

I've recently obtained a Honda FG315 rotovator - it's only really been used once, but by someone who didn't know what they were doing and was not a friend to machinery. The machine is about 6 months old, but when I got hold of it had a broken forward/reverse handle. I've obtained a spare one and a copy of the 4 A4 sides Honda rather jestingly refer to as a manual.

After an oil/fuel change (and actually a treatment of car polish and WD40 because I'm an obsessive)  the machine started first time but will not engage in reverse. I know that the forward/reverse cable can be adjusted, which may fix this, as the manual indicates this sort of 'malfunction' is common after the first few hours work. The adjuster consists of a nut and thread to lengthen the cable (and I assume the tension) it's currently in the shortest position, but altering it makes no difference.
I know the next stage is to check the drive belt , but again refering to the gnomic diagram in the instructions, this seems to be fine.

Has anyone any experience of a similar issue with a FG315 and know of a fix?
Also are full engine/rotovator/service manuals available for this machine?

Apart from the reverse issue I'm impressed with the machine - it's taken an afternoon to realise the technique having initially had the rotovator bounce around on the surface of the soil (an hour in and the heavens opened and I quickly realised the folly of a rotovator in heavy rain).
This seems to be (and please correct me if I'm wrong) to roughly fork over the London clay soil I'm working in, to large chunks, enough to allow the tines and the rear depth guide to penetrate and then chug along at about 3/4 2/3 speed, slowly edging forward. Without forking the tines don't seem to be able to penetrate the soil. The manual recommends a 6% angle for the rear guide to drop into the soil, but I seem to end up working with the 'nose' of the machine much higher in the air than this.

In a related query, do the rotovator blades have to have a correct orientation - by that I mean does the 'J' shape of the tine ends all have to run in the same orientation as adding the extension sets and orientating them as the manual suggests nearly drove me potty?

The context for using the machine.
The plot I'm working on hasn't been touched, seemingly ever, and measures 6m by 21m. Approximately half has now been double-dug, OM added; the soil showed signed of gleying due to the compacted clay subsoil, drainage has improved significantly.

The aim at the moment is to speed up the digging process and get as much OM added as possible. Double digging in London clay (for those who haven't experienced it) is really not fun. The theory therefore is to break the topsoil up, strip it and then break the clay sub, in a sort of mechanised version of double digging. I have a feeling the FG315 might not be up to clay subsoil and to this end a bigger beast a Honda F510 is available.
Anyone with any experience of undertaking something similar, please don't hold back, all input appreciated.

Thanks for any advise on offer.

[adal]

 Hello  Srbaritic

if you lived near to me i would have give you a lend of my  Lady in red i hope everthing  works out fo you