I honestly don't understand why they stopped making this model. It feels like technology went backwards instead of moving forward. The older Briggs & Stratton designs were simple, reliable, and built to last, and now it seems like everything is more complicated but not necessarily better. 🤔

They looked cool, but they weren't that great. They were complicated and suffered mechanical issues (like broken springs) routinely. When they broke, they crank could kick back and break your wrist. Most people in the 50s and 60s (when the "shock free" starters were made) retrofit their mowers with the far saver recoil starters we know today. When a recoil fails, it doesn't take your hand with it.

There is a great documentary on the rise and fall of Briggs and Stratton. Spoiler alert: the fall started when a grandson took over (he was a finance guy, not an engineer).

Planned obsolescence replaced anything and everything decent and good… There just isn’t any money to be made with things that last 100 years! 😡

You answered your own question: "designs were simple, reliable, and built to last". That is NOT what they want now. MBAs took over corporate America and all that matters now is cutting cost and planned obsolescence.

Just tossed dads Briggs & Stratton in the dumpster. It still worked, 1966. I would have loved to have kept it or given it to someone. Time constraints.

old B&S engines were so well engineered. as a kid i used to rebuild them and sell them. i used to be able to go to NAPA and order all my parts. now it's just throw it away, order a new unit.

@GPAIndiana Biggest piece of crap I ever used. Tiny knob guaranteed to blister your hands.

I’ve never seen a mower starter like that somehow. Seems superior to the old rip cord starter.

I remember using my grandfathers Briggs and Stratton. He’d pay .50 to mow his yard 🤣

Guy I used to work with, came in one day with a hand all bandaged up. I asked him what happened. He tried to prop start his lawn mower. True story. If you knew him, you wouldn't be surprised.

Because the honda GX series motors made these designs completely obsolete. The GX series engine was far more reliable. Didnt need constant valve adjustment and the carburetors just worked. The gx series also offered a more compact package with durable splash lubrication components.

@TwinsBus We had two of those mowers. If I remember, my Dad taught me to grease the spring and only give it three turns. It always started and I only replaced one spring after a decade of use

We had one. I hated it. A lot of work for one crank. If it didn’t start. Do it again and again. What a pain.

More complicated? This is WAY more complicated than my lawnmower. Mine just has a string you pull on to start it lol. Is it cool and interesting? Absolutely. But also, definitely more complicated than most modern lawnmowers.

We had an old Snapper mower like this one with a B/S crank. I was 10 when I used it.

I know why they stopped building it. They stopped building it so they could Plan Obsolescence into your products. Here's my 1 year old Toro with a new spark plug running with a "self regulating" throttle which is a total failure. It starts for 5 seconds then fails continually

@patriot714_ The gas stove in my kitchen is from the 50s and works like new.

These old things worked and they stayed working forever!

Always trying to re-create the wheel!

I can tell you why. It was a POC. My Mom and I cranked on one of those for years. My Mom never cursed. Ever. This thing tried her patience worse than I ever did. The crank worked. The carburetor not so much. That was not technology.

Usually this happens when a company allows accountants instead of engineers hold leadership positions. To an accountant, customer satisfaction does not appear in the decision making process. It’s likely the rope start saves $0.05 per mower. Since there is no value for happy customers, they go with the rope start.

I have only saw these in videos online. It always works great in them and I have no idea why they stopped making them. But companies tend to make things last less time or harder to work when the product is too good.

Those did work well

I had to start mowing our half acre when I was 7. I had to stand on top of the lawn mower and use my whole body to pull the cord to start it.

Because it wasn't as quick and efficient as the pull cord. Imagine having to wind this every time you stalled out in tall grass.

After all these years tearing my rotator cuff pulling that damned start string and we had this???? I would much rather start it that way. Mother fucker

reminds me I need a new carb for my 50 year old snapper push mower... still runs perfect and has an aluminum body so never rusted.

Because all Briggs & Stratton engines were cannibalized and used to make go-carts

"I honestly don't understand why they stopped making this model" It's because of cost. A rope is much cheaper than that vastly superior crank. They made a lot more money by not giving you the best product they could. And they didn't care one iota whether you like it or not.

Insurance companies requiring more safety features changed a lot of things.

My uncle had one. They stopped making them because they were unreliable pieces of junk.

Most repairs I make on my small stuff is replacing pull starter strings. If there were kits available I’d replace every failed string with this and I’m sure it would be a simple 6 bolt swap on most chainsaws/mowers/etc

Wow, I’ve never seen that type, it sure beats the hell out of a pull start. Thanks for postin’-> Reposted 👍🏻

All the old tools or old models of appliances or in this case engines were made in the USA when they were indeed better. Then manufacturibg got shipped off to the rest of the workd and here we are…we regressed to where the rest of the world was instead of being the best.

I try to only buy Briggs & Stratton. Still better than most.