Is it hydrostatic or belt drive?

That will be a shaft drive hydrostatic. Remove the wheels and make sure the drive pawls are moving freely.

You might take the cover off the hydrostatic trans and check the fluid. I have a HRC and last year I looked at the hydro fluid. It was really coal black. There is no maint. paper on the hydro trans but I drained the gas and oil out of the mower - turned the mower upside down and drained the old trans fluid out and replaced it with fresh.

it actually isnt a hydrostatic its the older model. The sxa is non hydrostatic. BUt what i am noticing now is that when i engage it it jerks and bucks while trying to move forward.

Are you sure youÂve given the right model number? Honda model numbers starting with HRC indicates itÂs a commercial model, and ending with XA means it has a hydro tranny.

Depending on how old it is, it may just be that the wheels are spinning inside of the tires. I have an '09 version of this exact model, so it's definitely shaft drive. The whole tranny is pretty strong and reliable. Also canguy mentioned to check the pawls. My old Masters had that happen too. They rust in place, and are unable to engage the teeth in the wheel. It could be that if it is bucking, or possibly a fluid flow problem inside that isn't allowing it to engage completely.