Opinions on the "newest" model ms261/ms261cm and the husky 550 please help!!!

[stihl livin]

lol you need to change your name and disowned from the stihl guys family here lol

Go fly a kite Dallas. I stihl have a 064 hybrid.

 

[sawmikaze]

Ms241 and keep the 60cc

I totally agree with that.

 

[skip sail]

Best 261 is a 241.
you already have a 461,the 261 is a little saw pretending to be a bigger saw,the 241 is the best small saw out there i reckon.

 

[Nitehawk55]

The 241 is one angry little saw

Annnd , either the 261 or 241 won't fall on it's side when you set it down .

 

[Time's Standing Stihl]

Best 261 is a 241.

the 261 is a little saw pretending to be a bigger saw,

Yup, totally agree

 

[Stackowood]

we don't have the computer system for testing that

TJ what do you use to trouble shoot the M-tronic saws? Do you have the cord that plugs into the socket and then connects to an Ohm meter?

 

[Landmark]

Not ran the 261 but love my 550. Would buy it all over again. Awesome saws!

 

[Joe Kidd]

For an all around firewood saw the MS261 is tuff. For a agile limbing/top-end saw the 550 beats the 261 IMO.
The 550 is the best dang handling saw I've used.
Forget high octane fuel in both. They scream on 89 octane noE fuel@40:1 of course.

 

[Joe Kidd]

Best 261 is a 241.
you already have a 461,the 261 is a little saw pretending to be a bigger saw,the 241 is the best small saw out there i reckon.

I didn't pickup the 261 over the 550 until Randy woke up the sob. I can even buck with the damn thing running a 8-pin .325

 

[Locust Cutter]

The 261 being a quad port saw has a lot of power. I use Dad's quite often and it punches (a bit) beyond its weight. I prefer the handling of the 346 and 550 as well as the throttle response, but am inclined to agree w/Joe's analogy above, depending on what other saw(s) I bring to the job. If a lot of limbing and some bucking is involved (before grabbing a bigger saw) then it's Husky all the way. If I will be doing more bucking in the 12-18" range, in hard wood, I'd still probably grab the husky, but the 261 would do better. I like them both, and am blessed to have all 3, but with a MMWS 262xp, 562xp muffler modded, Stumpbroke 372xp and MMWS 9010 waiting in the wings, the 50cc saws don't have to do a lot of bucking if I don't want them to.

 

[Khntr85]

No but I have ran many many tanks through the husqvarna auto tunes when I was helping a fellow logger and after that I told myself I won't own one at least not yet.

What was the main thing that turned you off about the auto tune....

 

[Khntr85]

same solenoid. sometimes they just fail. the highest hours ive seen recorded on an mtronic saw was about 170. this was on a 2 year old ms261 that was used by a tree service that had the contract from the power company to clear land for power poles. these saw were run day in and day out, the hardest ive ever seen...they would come in with brush and *s-word all packed in the clutch cover. they dumped a few crankshafts

Hello, thanks for info....

I was talking to some guys on another forum, and a guy said that the 261 new editions included, had some bad cranks, have you seen many bad cranks .....are the crank bearings theirselves bad, or is another faulty part causing this....

Also I remember reading that some of the 261 came out of factory with no grease or bad sprocket bearings, are their any truths to these????

 

[Khntr85]

I'm an M-tronic fan. Id say 261C-M. Optimal tuning all the time and even if a solenoid goes its maybe $27 for a replacement. For the responsiveness of the M-tronic I am willing to pay $27 every year or so.

hey thanks for reply....have you had guys having to replace the solenoid very often....is it the "weakest" link in the mtronic system???

Also how lon have you had your 261 and is it the new style??

 

[Khntr85]

Cuttin firewood ?

Buy a 261.

I cut firewood, cut tops, do tree removal/cleanups, and all on the side...my "day" job isn't the tree business....I have just always loved running saws, so eventually I started trying to make money with them and rebuilding them, years ago.....hell not only do I rebuild them I recently gained another "chainsaw" obsession, grinding chains......my lord where/when does CAD end!!!!!!!

Oh also do you have a 261...if so is it auto tune or standard...is it the NE or older style??

 

[drf256]

I just bought this for muhself




Saw's had half a tank through it.

Can't wait to take the hoof rasp to it.

This ones not leaving the stable.

 

[Khntr85]

Ms241 and keep the 60cc

Thanks for reminding me about the 241....


Little story......I buy, sell, rebuild saws......had a guy call me about my buying non-running saw ad.....sure enough he brought me a cherry little 024 av, I mean clean low hour(I will get a pic later)....sure enough i got it with bar and chain for $40, put $40 in it and the damn thing is a sweet little saw!!!!

I removed a dead crab-apple tree with it and I was literally in love with the saw....I will tell you this if some one offered me $300 cash for it, I would tell them absolutely not, it will be mine til I die.....

Anyway do you have a 241, if so do you have lo-pro on it or .325....I think my 024 has 16" bar with .325 and she works it like a champ....


As far as keep my 362, I thought about it....hell when I first got it I thought it would cure cancer lol.....it runs a 20" bar fine in hardwood....

Here is how I cut right now....anything up to 18" or so gets cut with ms250, 024, 026.....anything 20" an over gets destroyed by the ms461.....so, that leaves the poor 362 in the garage....yes, I could use it in some places were I use the 461, but when the hardwood gets 20" and bigger I don't have the time or want to switch between the 2-saws....I feel like my personal favorite saw plan is a 50cc or under saw and the 70cc(ms461).....as of right now that does all the work I need....I could just use my 024 since it's in such good shape, but the CAD is saying a need a new saw!!'n

I will look into the 241 more.....how many of you guys own/run the ms241, what's your thoughts????

 

[big t double]

Hello, thanks for info....

I was talking to some guys on another forum, and a guy said that the 261 new editions included, had some bad cranks, have you seen many bad cranks .....are the crank bearings theirselves bad, or is another faulty part causing this....

Also I remember reading that some of the 261 came out of factory with no grease or bad sprocket bearings, are their any truths to these????

Big end bearing failure on the crank. I've heard of the sprocket bearing issue...seen pics on the forums...but never seen it come through our shop. But yes, there is truth to it.

 

[skip sail]

i run two of them. A ported one,and a MM one. both with the PS full chisel chain. i cant tell much difference between them,but i need to give the ported one a real good thrashing as soon as the firewood season starts.
In green Aussie eucalyptus(Yellow box and ironbark),up to about 14 inches,they are unbeatable,fast,light,and a ton of low down grunt for such a little saw.
A fantastic limbing saw,I use it for falling up to about 12 inches,then i grab the 044.
In dry wood,the PS chain maybe lets it down a little,and you start to remember that its a little saw,but it still punches above its weight.
I call mine "The angry termite",and a friend who borrowed one said"somebody shrank an 090"

 

[Husky187]

I have never run the 261 but have run the 550xp. A buddy recently acquired one, a 2012, setup with an 18" bar, 3/8" and .058. To give you a comparison I have a 346 OE with a mild muffler port and a 346 NE totally stock set up with 16" bars, 3/8" and .050. I will say that the 550xp just chugs. I am not a huge fan of the autotune just because I feel as though when you are deep in the woods and something happens it doesn't seem as though its a quick fix but it just gives the saw an incredibly smooth power curve in my opinion.

Where my NE and OE would tend to bog down in the cut the autotune allows it to just continue through. Also after he picked this saw up he hasn't touched his 576xp. I have seen a lot of arborists who use the 550xp in tree use and I can justify why. With a 18" it really gives it a perfect balance - imo. Like I said, I can't speak on behalf of the Stihl, but I didn't notice anyone in this thread had much experience with the Husky.

Also the reason why I have stayed true with the 346's is because I plan on sending my NE out for a nice woods port (haven't decided on who to get that to though yet). But I haven't really heard of anyone giving a 550xp a full port. Most guys say with just a muffler port they open up and produce tremendous results - this I can not attest to as my buddies is bone stock. But, in stock form it performs flawlessly. I don't think you will be making a bad decision by choosing either saw, I have good dealer support for both Stihl dealers and Husky where I live, we have 3 full Husky shops within 10 miles and 2 Stihl dealers within the same distance; this may be something you want to consider. But if you don't have good dealer support these forums are just as good for knowledge and how-to, if not better than dealers. Good luck.

 

[Johnmn]

What was the main thing that turned you off about the auto tune....

The ones I ran were hard starting warm and cold, poor throttle response, poor filtration and had the bog just turned me off. Plus I like the idea of being able to adjust the carb myself. That said it seems stihl has had way less issues with m tronic.