The Sound of mowing the lawn in the 1960's - Webb Rotosythe - 120cc Shay 2 stroke engine

[@M70ACARRY]

Looks like a floor buffer and sounds like a 1976 Yamaha 125 enduro

[@marinjeanprovost9583]

That is a nice mower. There's Nothing like the old mowers. Can't be beat.

[@scottcozart8950]

and it keeps the mosquitoes in check for the whole neibourhood

[@Jkthejungletamer]

Don't hate on those mowers with the 4 strokes, I have a mower with a four stroke Briggs and Stratton and let me tell all you four stroke haters, it eats through tall grass like a hot knife through butter! And it is a MTD push mower with a 4.5 HP Briggs and Stratton engine!

[@bryanmartinez6600]

I've beaten the hell out of a flathead Briggs...id like to see one of these puny 2 stroke mow through 2 foot weeds and gravel

[@RiceReaper]

I've got a Remington which is basically an MTD here. Only 1 season with it but it runs real often and hot. Have high expectations for it over the next 30 years hahaha

[@LordSmuggington]

Just what I've been waiting for. I love that machines look, sound and colour.

[@Bumpyfn250]

Everything but look for me

[@EricFB]

That thing is sweet, wish my lawnboy sounded like that!

[@precinct1baltimorecountyre588]

ur lawn boy as 2 stroke so u are lost in gear

[@douro20]

I worked on a Lawn-Boy once from the 1950s with a D engine...when I got the thing running a friend of mine noticed it had 5 thou worth of play in the lower main bearing...yet the thing ran like a top and had plenty of power. Most 2-stroke engines won't run properly, or not run at all with slop in the main bearings. Now that's a well built engine.

[@andrewbartleman9169]

You mean a C engine I'm sure...

[@douro20]

@@andrewbartleman9169 Yes you're right this was a C engine. I wasn't really sure of the difference between the C engine and the D engine back then although both were produced around the same time.

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

i say the f engine is better in every way.

[@jonnysnipes3123]

False, two stroke will run until there is zero compression period. You have slapping piston or bad bearing it’ll literally run until that piston shatters in that cylinder. That’s why it’s so important to do compression test on two strokes or any rebuilds if you notice anything going because like I said it’ll run until the engine has no compression

[@precinct1baltimorecountyre588]

kawn boys were made for commercial landscapers cause 2 stroke engine oiled with gas. not crank case on hill 4 strokes blew up from oil not reaching the splash crank shaft. this post is compete bull no mower in good shape sounded like this blue bomber

[@chaytonruijsenaars3971]

it would be cool to see him jam the governor wide open for just a second, well built machine, new mowers are gutless, fake toy briggs or kohler engine with the OHV stalls out in deep grass, our toro with the good old tried and true briggs 6.5 flathead fires first pull every time always and when the grass gets deep the throttle just opens, no complaints

[@TheAussieStig30]

FlyingWldAlaska77 I bought a 1980's Victa 2 stroke 160cc utility mower, which is basically just a slasher, as there is no bag. They were popular with councils etc in Australia as they were powerhouses and lasted forever. At the moment mine only revs just above idle until I get my carb kit, but it went through 10" high, thick grass without bogging down a single time. I also own a new Victa 2 stroke and while it is powerful, the 80's model is so much more powerful it's crazy. I bought a Rover 4 stroke from the 70's today and it is a brute with its 5hp B & S

[@bryanmartinez6600]

The residential mowers yeah but the good ones are powered by Honda or even better a Kawasaki though those are usually found on commercial mowers and go for $800 and up Modern Briggs are garbage Kohler is decent the Honda's well the GX horizontal engines are solid

[@jimbilton1956]

Actually, that engine does not have a governor.

[@billybobb7252]

Man that is a sick Mower Shit Hot!

[@MO3MINI]

Gets even hotter when the grass in the grass box catches fire 🔥

[@rm25088]

Sounds just like an old 70s 2 stroke dirt bike. I love it. How many horse power?

[@valtralad1]

Sounds great!

[@simdini]

looks like a vacuum cleaner from the 60s

[@pimpinpenz]

I WANT THAT

[@barryphillips7327]

Never seen one before, so many videos of restored mowers but they do not allow to cut grass, what is the point of that????

[@kyleo6048]

I love the sound of 2 stroke engines in da morning

[@mattbourn8854]

I want one. How much $?

[@jasperedwards3341]

I had in my days a Allen champion and hayter 26"

[@chrischiampo7647]

Awesome 😀😮😮😮 I’ve Never Seen One Of These Before 👍🏼

[@hurstshiftin9873]

This thing has a power band you wouldn't believe. That's Why it has those style handles you need to hold on tight to this ole pig. Ive heard some crazy stories of these old widow makers. Clutch was really easy to drop on these models. Wheelie every gear. Lay a patch for miles. This thing was cutting edge back then. Sadly like the 3 wheeler people just don't know how to ride them.

[@fistteam]

Wow the gas tank right up there in your face!! 🔥 But love this old mower!!

[@MO3MINI]

Its always been the petrol line running though the grass box right next to the glowing hot exhaust thats worried me with this one 🤣

[@Buddycoop1]

Looks like the Brunswick oiler I used at my bowling alley job thirty years ago. And when you can see smoke in a grainy video you know it's gotta be pretty bad to be the guy in it. Cool mower though.

[@davee6406]

What a little beast!

[@willswheels283]

Very nice, I was quite suprised to hear that 2 stroke sound, I was expecting it to be a 4 stroke.

[@mumbles552]

Sure sounds like the carb needs adjusting.

[@andrewbartleman9169]

Your blade is at a fast idle. Turn that speed up. Older mowers ran at like 4000rpm

[@Kyle-bb9zp]

Really cool

[@jonienglish3231]

i have a lawnboy 10601 2 stroke and 3 22270 and 22271 all aloy deck

[@douro20]

Is the screw in the front for adjusting the front wheels?

[@ItsAlwaysRusty]

I would have guessed it was from the 1930's.. Has an Art Deco look to it. Great Vid..

[@newholland9904]

this lawnmower looks way better and the crap you get today

[@nicolaskatsaros1861]

Hi, are you interested in buying a gerbil?

[@arliskoehn7009]

Wow I like that old mower great video

[@ericlockshaw2334]

Looks like a Deamonic vacuume cleaner,different.

[@cheesecake9336]

120cc lawnmower 💀

[@MO3MINI]

Plenty of power… its two stroke so revs much higher than modern stuff too

[@jimbilton1956]

It is a Shay Rotoscythe Windsor model, but with the Webb branding on it. Webb bought the production rights to Shay garden machinery around 1963, and continued making Shay's designs for a few years. This one sounds much louder than it should - I guess the silencer is rotten, a common fault due to the location in the grass box. Heavy, but built to last - beautiful cast aluminium deck, engine cowl, and even the powered rear roller is a casting.

[@MO3MINI]

Excellent info thanks for that! Dates the engine pretty well to 👍 Yes the exhaust is completely rotten out. It also catches the grass on fire when it’s full! I’m guessing originally it had some sort of shield around the exhaust to prevent this

[@jimbilton1956]

@@MO3MINI No shield that I know of. The silencer is a rectangular shape , divided internally with a sheet metal central piece, and six baffles. The exhaust enters the silencer, travels through three baffles in one half , then reverses flow and through three more baffles in the other half, before exiting at the bottom end of the silencer. Going back about forty years, on two occasions I made replacement silencers for this model. I was amazed by the quiet running afterwards. If the silencer is intact, I think it unlikely there would be a fire hazard, due to the internal design. Superb machine, though cumbersome! The engine is strong, though eventually the plain brass / bronze main crank bearings ( the ones in the crankcases) can wear, then you get air leaks and resultant rough running. Oh, by the way, they weren't fitted with a head gasket from the factory - the aluminium head was bolted direct to the iron cylinder.

[@MO3MINI]

Awesome information thanks 👍

[@FepXBL]

That demonstration was a little anticlimactic

[@MO3MINI]

xxFOXxxI2ACINGxx have you had more interesting experiences whilst mowing the grass? Not sure what you was expecting haha it's a mower and it cuts grass 😅

[@FepXBL]

MO3MINI not mowing grass, in particular, but, when I hear a 2 stroke, I picture a dirt bike ripping up some dirt. It would be hilarious if you expected to see a dirt bike, but you see someone mowing their lawn with this.

[@thydusk666]

You look liike Jetsons. Really :)

[@billbright1755]

Head for the hills, it's Lawn/Zilla! Oh oh, there goes Tokyo .

[@MrRocco_]

Tokyo has been mowed down

[@mowergonemad]

how long have you had it

[@treclive]

Made me😃

[@gaminggreedy]

What a beast

[@knighthawk86855]

Wow niceeee!!!

[@samuelfellows6923]

Unusual design - the exhaust is expelling into the grass box 🤨

[@MO3MINI]

Yeah if the grass is dry and the grass box is full it sets fire to the grass it’s collected! What you can’t see is that the fuel line also runs under the metal work in the grass box too 🧨

[@samuelfellows6923]

Err... in this age, that would be a fire hazard ⚠️ (they don’t do that anymore for this reason), and most grass box’s are now made of plastic/woven mesh, your vintage 60s mower had metal construction, the smoke coming out of the vents, (I assume) is the grass burning, you could have shown us the back of the mower to see how it burns the grass and the fuel is pre-heated 😉

[@MO3MINI]

Most of the smoke in this video is just the oil as it’s a two stroke. But it definitely would set the grass alight if you let it 😂

[@vanreliant5584]

Is your mower fitted with the baffled silencer box,and if so is it complete the machine seems very loud, normally these mowers are fairly quiet and drone along. If you are setting fire to grass the silencer must be holes, I have never had grass catch fire in a Rotoscythe and I've used them for over 50 years.

[@danieldemayo6209]

Looks straight out of fallout 4....just add plutonium...

[@CarlKahler]

needs carb work

[@mudmowerregulators9559]

Carl Kahler Explain

[@alexhickey5633]

Its a 2 stroke. They run strange anyway especially if its a set constant throttle position

[@realflow100]

Why does it sound so inconsistant in the firing? it sounds like a bunch of random occasional popping? Why don't engines sound consistant?

[@MO3MINI]

realflow100 these older engines seem to be mostly the same, they won't hit every time until they are on a good load. Load them up and they will hit every time... this engine is a bit to beefy for the machine it's on. So it's never running on the load that really gives it something to do

[@realflow100]

but what happens when you run into REEEALLY excessively deep thick grass and try to race through it quickly? Would that bog it down or at least make it fire consistantly? What exactly causes the inconsistent firing? Does it miss igniting the fuel or does it ignite but not give any power (so not as much of a bang) until the RPM drops enough that theres a load?

[@theonewhoknows2]

There's no weird firing it's just how 2 strokes sound when you barely crack the throttle on any 2 stroke dirtbike , jetski, ATV and any engine in the upper low rpms, lol nothing sounds wrong here or could be pinned as wrong from this video in my opinion maybe running better idk I haven't heard this specific engine so I'm not sure what it specifically should sound like lol.

[@jasperedwards3341]

That's a allen

[@MO3MINI]

It's badged as a Webb rotosythe... Still has the original transfer showing the Webb logo and script :)

[@jasperedwards3341]

Must be a copy because Allen made one identical

[@jasperedwards3341]

Plus Webb was originally wolseley

[@precinct1baltimorecountyre588]

thats a worn out pos. no mower sounded like that unless it was pos

[@dietznutz1]

It's how they sound, especially with a rotten exhaust, it's running good

[@BeamerTheFox]

I must say that's the neatest mower ive ever seen the sound of it is crazy lmao like an old endure :D an it moves like a ride on with the speed it cuts at it sure wont take long to cut a yard at that speed xD