New ms241

[NCPT]

Well I just bought a new ms241 with a build date of 06/14. Previous owner bought it new and never put it in wood, he had another ms241 that he used regularly. Debating on sending it off for porting before ever using it???

I'm surprised by its size too....or maybe more surprising is the 550xp's size because the 550 is physically smaller than the 241 but the 241 is lighter.

 

[00wyk]

Yeah, the 241 is a bit portly for a 40cc saw. They run strong when ported. But if I had a nearly new one like yours, I would sell it and get a 50cc saw(not much larger, but with 25% more displacement, much more powerful), or get a lighter 40cc saw like a Shindaiwa/Echo cs390(which is nearly a pound less and drastically smaller than the 241). The 241's main advantage nowadays is fuel efficiency. Mine also was not terribly reliable. It's on it's second carb, and it never quite ran right. I gifted it to a friend and informed him of it's issues and wished him luck. I need reliability in my work, and that saw doesn't wanna deliver it. You can do a search on the interwebs and see the issues these have had. I went the Echo 390 route, btw. The mechanical carb and tiny size sold it for me.

 

[blsnelling]

The 241 is a full pound lighter than the 261 when fueled and ready for work. I love mine, even sold my 261.

 

[MustangMike]

I love my ported 261, and my brother loves his stock 241. He won't even let me muff mod it cause he does not want it to be louder.

It is very light weight, and cuts small stuff real fast … a nice saw to have around!

I would not knock either one.

 

[dustinwilt68]

No replacement for displacement!

 

[foragefarmer]

I have a thread on here of my 01/14 build date 241 with bad bearings. It had a number of problems before the flywheel bearing went. But it was a daily work saw and had many many hours on it. It is now the official backup saw instead of one of my 026's.

When the bearings went bad in the first saw I bought another 241 with the updated kill switch set up. It has been running about the same amount of time for my company and has been flawless for almost 2.5 years. Tempting fate with that statement.

 

[Fairways_and_Greens]

I think it's that size for a reason. If it was smaller, I think your arms would feel too close together and it might not balance a bar correctly. That's just a whiskey thought though...

 

[00wyk]

I think it's that size for a reason. If it was smaller, I think your arms would feel too close together and it might not balance a bar correctly. That's just a whiskey thought though...

That's an odd way to rationalize it's size. But I can see the discussion happening in a Stihl committee.

Like I said, I've an Echo390ESX, which should eventually make it's way stateside likely in a strato version. It's a pound lighter than the 241, and is a smaller package over all. I prefer it for the type of work you would do with a small saw. It also cost about $200 less. It also has the same stroke as it's 50cc brother, the 500P/501 - 33mm. So has loads of torque for it's size. Here it is sitting in the middle of my usual saw accoutrements(Yes, I also own a 241 I got in a trade and ported and gutted the stratos on, so I know what I'm comparing it to here):

 

[Zachary Veldboom]

I've been happy with mine so far. Kevin worked some magic on it and it's a runner. Was thinning some pines this past weekend and it was a pleasure to use. Super light and nice handling. I can see how someone would step up to a 50cc saw, but I really wanted to try one. I'll be getting my 2253 back from porting, so that'll be fun to compare the two.

 

[00wyk]

If you're thinning pines, I doubt you'll need even a 241.

If you have to cut some medium sized beech, it may be a different story.

 

[MustangMike]

That is why I like my MMWS 261, that Beech would not be a problem for it, but my brother loves his 241 and won't even let me do a muff mod on it because he says I'll make it too noisy!

 

[00wyk]

That is why I like my MMWS 261, that Beech would not be a problem for it, but my brother loves his 241 and won't even let me do a muff mod on it because he says I'll make it too noisy!

This is before I removed the baffle. Now it's gone and there's another opening about the same size on the other side of the muffler, and the stratos are mostly gutted, and upgraded to the 2015 model Walbro(it's a 2012 early 241). Completey different saw now.

Hope @RI Chevy don't panic when he sees the exhaust skid marks.

 

[blsnelling]

Did you replace the whole carb or just the solenoid? PN?

 

[00wyk]

Did you replace the whole carb or just the solenoid? PN?

Mine is a very early run 241 from 2012.

I got the most recent carb on it from a Stihl dealer out of Germany. Mainly because I had to. I didn't trust the local guys in Ireland or the UK to give me the most recent carb - even though they musta been out of stock by now with all the problems they've had on the German and UK forums. They didn't give me the Stihl part #, but I had the walbro part # at the time from my 241, and theirs was markedly different. So much so I made sure that they were sure it was meant for a 241 and not a 261. In any case, I would not be surprised at all, since Stihl did not do a recall, that they could have easily sneaked the new Walbro part # in with the old Stihl part# with a stock swap.

I replaced the carb once back in 2014 or 2015 with NOS in Ireland because the solenoid wasn't available locally. No one would give me a part # for a solenoid, and most just claimed there was no such thing. I had to get it back in action quick, so took what they had in stock since the estate was paying for it anyways. Customer service in Europe is nothing like it is stateside. I didn't bother recording the part# of the old carb since I assumed it was redundant/discontinued. I do have the carb around here somewhere. The part # off the latest carb I wrote down for my records is WTF 321-1b. I think is what I have on her now. Huge difference in response and performance. The old one had a 400 series Walro # on it if I recall. I'll go take a look at it next time I am down in Waterford. It's still in my old parts bin.

Here's the original muffler exit btw:

 

[DND 9000]

Your old carburetor was a Walbro WTF 1 (1143 120 0600). Your new carb is also a Walbro, but a slightly revised (with not documented minor changes) WTF-1B (with the same part no.).

 

[00wyk]

Your old carburetor was a Walbro WTF 1 (1143 120 0600). Your new carb is also a Walbro, but a slightly revised (with not documented minor changes) WTF-1B (with the same part no.).

I show WTF 408 -1b on the old carb vs WTF 321 -1b for the post 2015 model.

 

[blsnelling]

I show WTF 408 -1b on the old carb vs WTF 321 -1b for the post 2015 model.

I thought post 2015 was a Zama carb.

 

[00wyk]

I thought post 2015 was a Zama carb.

I am beginning to think they may have 3 versions now.

 

[MustangMike]

My 462 has a ZAMA, so I was also surprised the carb on the 241 was not.

 

[van462]

Just picked up a 241 on Thursday, It has a Zama. Has 370 written on it as possibly C1Q. The wiring has also changed a bit from any of the pics from blsnelling in your porting writeups.