Back in 2010 I wrote about the latest world speed record set by a lawnmower. That's been comprehensively broken by a new machine from Honda, dubbed the Mean Mower, prepared in co-operation with the BBC's Top Gear television program. The BBC reported about it last year:
The Japanese carmaker has upgraded one of its mowers by replacing its engine with one normally used in motorcycles.
A steering rack sourced from a Morris Minor car has been fitted to offer greater control, the mower's seat has been lowered, the wheels and tyres have been substituted with those of a quad bike, and the metal part of the chassis that normally holds the blades has been replaced with a glass fibre equivalent to make it lighter.
The alterations have forced the engineers to rethink how the machine cuts grass.
The original model featured metal blades, but they had to be removed as the engineers found it too complicated to connect them to the new engine.
Instead the machine now houses two electric motors with lengths of brake cable attached to them. These will spin round at about 4,000 rotations per minute to cut lawns down to size.
There's more at the link.
The Mean Mower has just broken the record, setting a scorching time of 116.57 mph. It'll take a lot to beat that! Here's a video report of the attempt. I recommend watching it in full-screen mode.
Congratulations to all concerned - but I'd love to know how much grass it would cut at that speed. I suspect any cutting will have to take place at much lower velocities!
Peter
But how does it corner??? :-)
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