"Lawrence" wrote in message
ups.com...

Most self-propelled machines now have a continuously variable drive speed
so
the difficulty of speed adjustment is pretty well eliminated and it's
easy
to slow down quickly or to propel in short lunges.

SJF

What you are referring to is a hydrostatic transmission and would
include reverse. You say most machines have one? Can you could give
even one example?

I don't know what you mean by hydorstatic but my old Toro rear drive mower
seems to have variable speed.
It gradually slows down to a stop as I gradually let the blade / wheel
drive bar out. I don't know if this was the intent of design, I don't have
the owners manual. It kinda feels like I am 'fanning the clutch'
Note that this action is independent of the 123 speed control lever.
As I said in another post the annoying thing about this mower is that the
rear wheels don't turn backwards. So if I need to go back the rear wheels
lock and skid.
Kevin






I own 4 self propelled mowers and only one of them has such a drive.
It is a $2100 walk behind brush mower. Any mower having such a feature
would have at least a 32 inch deck and be considerd a commercial mower.
17 inches is the typical deck size for a residential walk behind
mower. Here is a link to show you an example of my mower:

http://www.snapper.com/field_brush.html

My own search for such mowers can be found at this link:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...& btnG=Search

My search confirms my personal experience that front-wheel drive 17"
mowers have but one speed. 17 inch rear drive mowers often have
multiple speeds but apparently never do they have a hydrostatic
transmission. The smallest mower with such a feature has a 32 inch
deck and runs into the thousands of dollars.

I would be happy for you to prove me wrong so that I can go out an buy
such a mower.