Here's the skinny after spending some time with the MS500i. I put it through some decently tough usage today. The tree was already down so no felling action.
I got pretty good vids, I think, that will further give everyone an idea of where this saw is. It's through the 5th tank of fuel running 40:1 semi-synthetic and Oregon bar oil.
My point of doing the thread is to give everyone an honest bit of feedback. I don't like saw bias and I'm going to give this thing the same abuse I give my other saws.
Again, these are just my opinions for my cutting style. Both saws were ran with an 8-pin today.
My initial pros:
- Holds great RPM in the cut...it's got really good torque
- Doesn't seem to have AT/MT issues. In other words, if you run it out of fuel, it recovers instantly.
- Doesn't seem to have hot start issues. I got it HOT and no problem with restarts or leaning out. Weather was close to 85f today
- Ergonomics are good. You can work this saw for hours comfortably
- It's light for the displacement
- Fit and finish is clean
- Clears chips well
Initial cons:
- Still not liking the filtration...you'll see from the vids
- AV is on the soft side for long bars...24-25 is the sweet spot IMO...
- Fuel tank is small or it's not very efficient....gotta check the specs and see how much it holds
- Exhaust note is wicked annoying IMO
Grey area (time will tell):
- Durability--here because I haven't ran it enough to see what kind of abuse it can take
- Speed. Not the fastest saw....we may see it gain with break in time...
- Heat retention...it gets hot compared to other saws...excessive? We'll see...
This is not in anyway conclusive or scientific. The lists will grow with time......TBC