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

[Khntr85]

I have never ran the 550 but from what I have read the husky is faster lighter and more nimble and best suited for limbing. With the 261 you will get more grunt for the larger logs. Imho if your going to use it for 70% of your cutting the extra grunt of the 261 would be a better choice. However if you have to do a lot of brushing the 550 may be a better choice. I own a 2153 which is the jonsered version of the 346 which was replaced with the 550. As for the mtronic saws I have own and ran a 241-261-441&661 and never had an issue with any of them.

Thanks for reply....yes it would be cutting/bucking bigger stuff a lot more than small limbs....in general which saw did you prefer the 262 or 550????

Also what did you think about the ms241...it's been brought to my attention that are a nice little saw!!!!!

 

[Khntr85]

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

Hey thanks for reply!!!

How long have you had the 550, did yours have the bogging issue.....I haven't looked, what are the brand new 550 selling for???

 

[Khntr85]

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"

Are you saying you have 2-241????

Wow sounds like an angry little devil LOL....it must have a good amount of piwer/torque to cut your guys hardwood....what size bar do you have on yours.....

I have a 024 and it has a .325 16" setup and it flat rips with the .325, I bet it's really nice with the picco....

I have some 16" picco arbor Tec bars from left coast supply....I use them on my rebuilds for the ms170, 180, 210, 250, etc....does anyone know if the 024 will use the same bar as a ms250?????

 

[Cobby08]

bey 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??

I have a guy that seems like he is replacing them once every 16 months or so. He uses it clearing powerlines and pipelines. I would say that the solenoid is the "weakest" link yes. The old fat one is about 3 years old. I got it as a needed to be rebuilt saw as the guy straight gassed it. The M-tronic is the new one. I don't know the hours on it but Id guess around 30 hours maybe. I have it loaned out to the that same crew as I did some work to it and wanted them to break it in.

 

[Cobby08]

you know that thing, when you say a word to many times in a row in your head then it just starts sounding funny....yea, crisp, crisp, crisp. thanks cobby08. crisp.

Moist... Moist.. Mois... Moi... Mo... Mon... Mone.... money

 

[Khntr85]

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.

Wow great info thanks.....so would you say the 550 is better in most ways than the 346....

We have ZERO husky dealers here locally, we may have one more than 60 miles away, but I would have to check....I sure wish someone close to me had a 550 so I could run it and see what they are all about!!!!

 

[Khntr85]

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 .

Have you ran or do ou own the 241 and 261.....yes I am hearing a lot of guys like the 241...I have an 024 and if it is a decent step up in performance, I guarantee it's a sweet little saw!!!!!

 

[dall]

Wow great info thanks.....so would you say the 550 is better in most ways than the 346....

We have ZERO husky dealers here locally, we may have one more than 60 miles away, but I would have to check....I sure wish someone close to me had a 550 so I could run it and see what they are all about!!!!

sounds like you would be better off with dealer support

 

[Khntr85]

I'm in the same boat and I have been debating each saw. Which one can you get the most out of when ported and muff modded?

wow man we have got a lot of good info from these guys....are you getting a 261 or a 241....

I still dont know if I "trust" the mtronic yet.....I am not afriad of change, just seems there is still a few small issues....

The thing that is the biggest problem is this crank bearing issue....I keep hearing people bring it up....my question is, is this a bad bearing itself, or some other issue that's causing it to go bad....who knows...

 

[Husky187]

Wow great info thanks.....so would you say the 550 is better in most ways than the 346....

We have ZERO husky dealers here locally, we may have one more than 60 miles away, but I would have to check....I sure wish someone close to me had a 550 so I could run it and see what they are all about!!!!

If you were near NEPA I'd definitely let you run all three and see what you like. I think the 550xp is superior to the 346 as much as I hate to admit it. Seems like in your case the Stihl is more practical. I've read good things about those saws and the M-tronic is pretty well refined. Go with the Stihl don't look back.

 

[Nitehawk55]

Wow great info thanks.....so would you say the 550 is better in most ways than the 346....

We have ZERO husky dealers here locally, we may have one more than 60 miles away, but I would have to check....I sure wish someone close to me had a 550 so I could run it and see what they are all about!!!!

I think this makes your decision simple , you already have and like Stihl saws , I think you should stay with what works for you . You'll get a bunch of opinions on here which in the end will leave you more confused .
M-tronic has been out for several years now and is reliable , you always hear the bad , not the good .

 

[Nitehawk55]

Have you ran or do ou own the 241 and 261.....yes I am hearing a lot of guys like the 241...I have an 024 and if it is a decent step up in performance, I guarantee it's a sweet little saw!!!!!

I own a 241 m and have owned a 261 carb in the past and they were/are both great saws . I also own Huskys , Echo's and Dolmars (see my sig line) and judge saws maybe a bit different than others .
It would be best for you if able to compare a 261 and 241 but with a Stihl dealer nearby I think that's the best choice , you just have to decide which model will work best for what you are cutting size wise .
Good luck with your decision .
024 was a great saw in it's time but you'll find a noticable difference with the 241 .

 

[Khntr85]

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.

Great info thanks!!!

So if they were both going to be left stock, does the 261 still have more power/torque for the bigger stuff than the 550????

Is your 261 the new edition, is it the mtronic or regular carb...

 

[Khntr85]

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.

Hey thanks, is your dad's 261 a mtronic or standard carb.....also is it the new lightweight model??

 

[sawmikaze]

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??

Ive had every modern 50cc saw in just about every version.

The new 261s are tits.

 

[Khntr85]

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.

Oh ok, I thought they mean the actual "crank shaft bearing"....

Hell those are easy to check and replace...

 

[big t double]

Oh ok, I thought they mean the actual "crank shaft bearing"....

Hell those are easy to check and replace...

well yea...you have to replace the crankshaft when the big end bearing fails. its not that hard.

 

[PissRev]

wow man we have got a lot of good info from these guys....are you getting a 261 or a 241....

I still dont know if I "trust" the mtronic yet.....I am not afriad of change, just seems there is still a few small issues....

The thing that is the biggest problem is this crank bearing issue....I keep hearing people bring it up....my question is, is this a bad bearing itself, or some other issue that's causing it to go bad....who knows...

I was deciding between the 550xp and the ms261.

 

[Khntr85]

I own a 241 m and have owned a 261 carb in the past and they were/are both great saws . I also own Huskys , Echo's and Dolmars (see my sig line) and judge saws maybe a bit different than others .
It would be best for you if able to compare a 261 and 241 but with a Stihl dealer nearby I think that's the best choice , you just have to decide which model will work best for what you are cutting size wise .
Good luck with your decision .
024 was a great saw in it's time but you'll find a noticable difference with the 241 .

Hey thanks a lot, I know what you mean!!!

I have been watching some videos on the 241....it does seem very nice!!!

I have an 18" bar on my 026, and a 16" bar on 024.....I need to decide if I can get away with 16" bar.....

I hate to ask, but if you had to pick one to keep between the 241 or 261 which would you keep....or which one do you use the most....

 

[Khntr85]

I just bought this for muhself

View attachment 62744
View attachment 62745

Saw's had half a tank through it.

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

This ones not leaving the stable.

Very nice, how do you like it as is, just stock....