Chapter Four – Getting Serious.
In mid 2006, my business was growing and I took on a large group of high-end customers. In fact, they were one of the richest families in the country. In many ways, I was intimidated by them and pretty much continued to be up until I decided to move on at the end of 2020. As such, I made sure I did everything to perfection. Up until this point, I was using my trusty little red Victa, but I could see that I was going to need something better, something more powerful and something more professional.
Once again, I knew exactly what I wanted. The choice was another Victa, my focus lasered in on the new alloy decked Razor.
This was a range of mowers with a new design 19 inch alloy deck, one that is still made today with a few modifications. The Razor was unique in having a rather different handle design. The mounting points to the deck were familiar, however the handle angled in and rose up before looping out and around to for the upper handlebar. Uniquely, it had a molded plastic holder for a drink bottle. I absolutely loved that idea; on long hot day’s it was very handy to have some refreshment so easily accessible. I don’t think I have used a mower as ergonomic to maneuver as this Victa with that handle. Sadly, Victa phased it out a while ago, along with the nifty drink bottle holder.
The Razor could be had with three engines, the 6hp VSX 2-Stoke, the Honda GCV160 and the Briggs & Stratton Quantum XTS60. I went with the 190cc B&S, which like the 2-Stroke, had a snorkel air filter. I remember the first lawn I mowed with that machine and was immediately impressed with the big increase in grunt it had compared to my little red Victa.
I paid $650 for this mower after shopping around. A similar mower now would be around $1000.
Victa would later go on to make these in a blue and grey colour scheme -
I would run this mower for nearly 2.5 years. It did plenty of work, to the point I had to replace the rear wheels. I remember showing the guy at the mower shop the worn-out wheels, his response was that I had “done some miles”. It owed me nothing in the end, I traded it in on something newer after it started to get a touch smoky. This is a mower I wish I had kept; I know you can’t keep them all, but these machines were not made in the sort of numbers that their cheaper brothers were and I rarely see them for sale on the used market.
Next – Moving on up.