Toro Personal pace

My Mother-in-law bought the top of the line Toro mower over 10 years ago. It had electric start with 3 speed self propel. It always started easily. It was easy to start manually as well. I thought it cut well and the lawn looked great when finished either mulch or grass catcher. However, I had 2 issues with the mower. First, was the grass catcher. It was a rear bagger and it was the most difficult thing I have ever used to empty. Trying to get the clippings into a lawn bag was virtually impossible. I usually dumped the clippings on a pile and then bagged them by hand for disposal. The second issue with the Toro was the height adjustment. IMHO that is the poorest engineered device of any mower on the market. The rear adjustment wore so badly from the few bumps it encountered in the lawn that I could no longer keep it at the desired height (2 1/2 inches). The other factor was all the weight from the grass clippings and battery that rode on the back of the mower. I eventually became so frustrated that I removed the wheels and drilled a hole through the height adjustment lever and frame and bolted it fast at the desired height.

Cato said:

I have a Toro Recycler albeit not the Personal Pace model. It has always started up on the first pull but is VERY sensitive to even the smallest amount of wet grass. It bogs down a lot too.

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The Personal Pace sounds like a good one. I'm starting to have problems with the recycler, similar to yours. After the warranty ran out, it got hard to start, and to keep running. The filter and plug were cleaned/replaced regularly, oil changed, blade sharpened, moving parts on the carb and linkage cleaned and oiled, etc. and it still doesn't run well most of the time. On a yard with just a week's growth, it's okay, but if there's some moisture it acts horrified and the choke doesn't kick in like it should. I've cleaned what I can reach on the choke but it might need to be replaced. Even on a mild yard, the engine sometimes sputters and blows out dark smoke for a while, then it recovers. Some of the better mechanics on here might recognize this syndrome and say "All you have to do is ..." Thanks in advance if that happens. ;-)
This is a Kohler engine on the 22" Recycler, about four years old. Looking at the Toro website, now they use Briggs engines, not a Kohler in sight. Makes me wonder if they finally realized that Kohlers aren't so good. Unfortunately, I bought a second Recycler three years ago to use on the rental properties and last year it started spewing oil out the exhaust. Of course, the warranty had recently run out so it's sitting around for spare parts.
Some of you are still covered in snow, down here's the grass is starting to grow. Sorry about that.