# Honda Tracked blowers ground speed...



## Mike C. (Jan 28, 2016)

Just a subject that I've been curious about,please direct me to the thread if this question has already been answered...


How fast,in mph,are the tracked Hondas?Honda themself seems to be very unwilling to give out that info(I can't find it in print).


Has anyone ever been curious enough to set a GPS on there blower and find out?Anyone willing to?


I've read that the tracked models tend to be rather pokey.


Thanks.


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## oneboltshort (Dec 16, 2019)




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## Mike C. (Jan 28, 2016)

Thanks for the video...


Honda HSS928 goes 2.3 mph-max.


My old Allis(Simplicity)828 goes 2.4 mph max.,according to the owner's manual.


My Ariens ST824 is supposedly capable of 2.8 mph max. according to the service manual.


So the Honda is no speed demon but not unreasonably slow-for tracks.


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## aa335 (Jan 21, 2020)

Speed is mostly relevant is you are looking to transport from one place to another.

Operating speed depends on what you are trying to clear and the terrain you are on. For sidewalks, I rarely go full speed unless the edges have been defined by previous snow clearing. In that case, I would like the to go a little faster than the maximum speed of the Honda. Most of the time, I am at 75-80% of max speed so that I am in control of the snowblower. At max speed, it is too easy for the snowblower to veer off into the grass and chew 8 inches faster than I can correct it.

Most of the time, the limiting factor is how much snow is in front. Going faster than the snowblower engine/power/design can process means throwing distance is reduced, the engine will labor, and the snowblower turns in to a plow, if it has enough push.  At this point, the snowblower is overstressed.

So in short, speed in mph is academic. The practical speed is the speed that you are comfortable operating the piece of equipment without destroying it and damaging property.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Your top speed is ok if you are just transporting the machine or driving it down to the local gin mill to pick up a six pack, other than that you are never using it at full speed when you are clearing snow. You have to slow down and let the machine do its work.


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## Mike C. (Jan 28, 2016)

ST1100A said:


> Your top speed is ok if you are just transporting the machine or driving it down to the local gin mill to pick up a six pack, other than that you are never using it at full speed when you are clearing snow. You have to slow down and let the machine do its work.


I used my first snowblower in the early to mid 1970's,so I'm kind of aware this.


My inquiring about the top speed of the Hondas was merely out of curiosity.Transport speed is somewhat important to me however,in that I have a considerable distance I have to cover at times on my private road.


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## aa335 (Jan 21, 2020)

I can't see why transport speed for a tracked snowblower be any faster than they are now. There's a whole lot of shaking and vibration at top speed. Likewise, all terrain tires are typically noisier and highway tires. It's just the tradeoff.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Mike C. said:


> I used my first snowblower in the early to mid 1970's,so I'm kind of aware this.
> 
> 
> My inquiring about the top speed of the Hondas was merely out of curiosity.Transport speed is somewhat important to me however,in that I have a considerable distance I have to cover at times on my private road.


I understand your point Mike with transporting it.
You don't want to go too fast with them in transport mode, especially with a track machine with the way they shake when being transported at speed, or you will be breaking them apart from the vibrations.
But it is nice to be able to get from point"A" to point "B" quickly.
Some manufacturers will list the transport speeds of the machines, they can be off a little bit. I wonder how many people ever measured the top speeds with some type of speed detection device. I know some people have "Drag Races" with them for fun.


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## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Wonder what speed the track machine is after doing the speed mod. I am pretty sure the gentleman in the video above had it in stock iteration. The speed mod is nothing but moving the speed cable from inner to outer hole in the control lever.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

The Swash plate can only move so far in the Hydro unit, so when it reaches its maximum angle of travel, it will only go as fast as the angle permits. It may already be at maximum angle with the original factory settings when the control lever is at its full forward or reverse setting just a slower reaction time as the lever is being moved, good question. Someone would have to test it out and measure the speed.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

HS machines had a pin position that allowed for faster speeds. The HSS doesn’t have that extra pin position. Speed cannot be increased, the lever has metal stops attached to the console, but removing them does not increase the speed. As st100a mentioned the hydros swashplate is factory set to its physical limits.


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

OK, I was curious so I mounted my surveying GPS on the HSS1332ATD. At 3,750 RPM forward max speed over 100' was 3.44MPH and reverse max speed was 2.38MPH. I don't think I'd want to go any faster.


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## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

tabora said:


> OK, I was curious so I mounted my surveying GPS on the HSS1332ATD. At 3,750 RPM forward max speed over 100' was 3.44MPH and reverse max speed was 2.38MPH. I don't think I'd want to go any faster.


Pretty good right there....newer machine?



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

Shovel said:


> Pretty good right there....newer machine?


Purchased it new in February 2017. I might have made a few improvements to it...


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## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

tabora said:


> Purchased it new in February 2017. I might have made a few improvements to it...


Perhaps it was the older ones that were slow..nothing wrong with that speed there.



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


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## RBQChicken (Nov 12, 2019)

tabora said:


> OK, I was curious so I mounted my surveying GPS on the HSS1332ATD. At 3,750 RPM forward max speed over 100' was 3.44MPH and reverse max speed was 2.38MPH. I don't think I'd want to go any faster.


Have you become more comfortable with a little higher than factory prescribed RPM's? IIRC it's something like 3550. I'm not trying to be a wise guy, I just remember you being a little reluctant to go any higher. I like the idea of more RPM's for more drift busting power and farther throw, and I respect your opinions a great deal, so if you have become more comfortable with higher than factory-suggested rpm's then I am thinking I'm going to ramp mine up a bit, too.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

does that video show how tomake it go faster by moving cable end to the other hole below the F/R handle?


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

RBQChicken said:


> Have you become more comfortable with a little higher than factory prescribed RPM's? IIRC it's something like 3550.


After upping the jet to #110, I tried various operating speeds from 3,350 up to 3,800, and settled at 3,650. The Max RPM over a typical blowing outing read 3,960 with the no-load RPM set at 3,650. However, this year it decided all on its own to run at 3,750 (I speculate that perhaps the fuel is better some how this year?) and it really performs well so I decided to just leave it there. I'm installing one of @drmerdp's impeller kits shortly, so it'll go even better in slush. I managed to clog it once blowing a couple inches of mush last month; first time since the jet & revised chute were installed.


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## Nanook12 (Nov 26, 2019)

I can barely walk fast enough to keep up with the Honda HSS928 tracked, in max forward speed. Running 3680 RPMs. Reverse max is about the perfect speed. I love the so called experts On this site who are always bashing the latest Honda models, that they quit making ten years ago...try to keep up...


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