What should be the next AM kit saw?

[Simondo]

Not so much from the hobby side, but for real. What would be a good "obsolete " saw to follow up with.. a rhetorical question.
Go back and scrape up the old stihls like 070's even 090's

Go period with another "o" something?

Go jonsered or husky? Like a 288 or something in that period?

Just curious. . I guess this might be another way of asking what your wish list is for your favorite obsolete saws that you can't get parts for!

Mine would be a Husqvarna 242xp or even a 254..

The 200 group do it for me to...but with the parts for them in the UK not at all easy to find unless you get them from Husq (even then its hit or miss ) things get to a cost that they price themselves out of contention if you want a money earning proposition rather than as a personal project.
I sold on a fare number of this saw group till the costs of 2nd hand ones went way up... If after market became more available then it would help.
I would give the 346 357 a nod along side the 242 254 262 ............. 346 is available somewhere still i hear but the 346 oe and ne are up there for me as all time fav saw. I would also like to see the Stihl 024 av available , another little fav of mine.

 

[Simondo]

I use my 350 nearly exclusively. .... 90% of the time, so I'm with ya Walt ... the trouble is that the small saws still have good availability. ...husky 350 parts are everywhere, in the oem and AM. the 288 is sorta a dying breed, so it would be nice to fill that gap with the AM ... PLUS it has bearings and seals done properly (i think, i've never actually built one...)



and 090 kit would be interesting, or a 166... but since the kits seem to be sticking with the 2 biggest brands, odds are we won't see a 166.

seems like that 070 kit on ebay would be simple enough to get, tear down, port, add the 66mm top end to? then attach a 5' bar to the thing and never bring it out except at GTG's or stumpin big oaks lol


i forget, that 254 ...isn't that same chassis as 262? I don't see the advantage to the 254 over the 262 ... is the tank more compact? I forget.

242 might be interesting, but I doubt there would be a lot of interest (see your above quote) because of the big saws...

You could reason that another way perhaps Matt....242....254 and forget the 262 by going straight to the 272 . I guess it depends on what you do with your saws and how many you want.

 

[Simondo]

Sounds like the 070/090 are already cloned. Those 880's have to be impressive. Seems like there is interest in the 288's and no one bit on my favorite the 254.

You may find there is a country difference when it comes to saw popularity . I find that the 40 50 60 cc class are by far the most used groups in UK where as my perception of the saw size favoured in the USA seems to be bigger. Its not uncommon to read of 70-90 cc class saws being use for limbing.

 

[Mattyo]

well, i'm not sure there is a point to the 254 over the 262 ... they are the same chassis. 254 just has shorter stroke crank, but its the same chassis. I don't see the point of such a saw, but Walt likes his a lot, and I know he can pick up a 262 if he feels like it too.

but the question remains, what is to be the next AM kit saw. and just because walt has personal preference, doesn't mean the rest of the world shares that or that it would be popular enough to support kit saw status.

the 272 chassis I think has good am support so far, so its possible that one will show up as a kit. but husky already has the 372 in kit form... so though they are different animals, why be redundant. the 288 wouldn't be redundant... the 242 wouldn't be redundant... just more a question of which would be popular.

theres probably not much need to clone the 029,290, 390 series... those are readily available still and relatively inexpensive to pick up used (likely very little differential between used oem and new kit saw)

 

[Onan18]

well, i'm not sure there is a point to the 254 over the 262 ... they are the same chassis. 254 just has shorter stroke crank, but its the same chassis. I don't see the point of such a saw, but Walt likes his a lot, and I know he can pick up a 262 if he feels like it too.

but the question remains, what is to be the next AM kit saw. and just because walt has personal preference, doesn't mean the rest of the world shares that or that it would be popular enough to support kit saw status.

the 272 chassis I think has good am support so far, so its possible that one will show up as a kit. but husky already has the 372 in kit form... so though they are different animals, why be redundant. the 288 wouldn't be redundant... the 242 wouldn't be redundant... just more a question of which would be popular.

theres probably not much need to clone the 029,290, 390 series... those are readily available still and relatively inexpensive to pick up used (likely very little differential between used oem and new kit saw)

Matt the 254 is the same chassis as the 262 yes but it is lighter and higher revving. The 254 has the low rise air filter system and therefore a shorter top cover, smaller muffler, and just all in all a more trim and compact package.

Joe

 

[Simondo]

well, i'm not sure there is a point to the 254 over the 262 ... they are the same chassis. 254 just has shorter stroke crank, but its the same chassis. I don't see the point of such a saw, but Walt likes his a lot, and I know he can pick up a 262 if he feels like it too.

but the question remains, what is to be the next AM kit saw. and just because walt has personal preference, doesn't mean the rest of the world shares that or that it would be popular enough to support kit saw status.

the 272 chassis I think has good am support so far, so its possible that one will show up as a kit. but husky already has the 372 in kit form... so though they are different animals, why be redundant. the 288 wouldn't be redundant... the 242 wouldn't be redundant... just more a question of which would be popular.

theres probably not much need to clone the 029,290, 390 series... those are readily available still and relatively inexpensive to pick up used (likely very little differential between used oem and new kit saw)

Ok...so as you point out this is down to personal preference in putting forward suggestions. I make no Judgment if a saw is "Redundant" in its class or not. Having owned and used the 242- 254 in softwood harvesting jobs plus using a 262 for mixed operation i can personally say they all perform differently ...just as Husqvarna intended i guess.

 

[Stump Shot]

And 254's are just bad to the bone good running saw's, just like the 266 is to the 272. Forget all the tech specs, just run one and see.

 

[Czed]

well, i'm not sure there is a point to the 254 over the 262 ... they are the same chassis. 254 just has shorter stroke crank, but its the same chassis. I don't see the point of such a saw, but Walt likes his a lot, and I know he can pick up a 262 if he feels like it too.

but the question remains, what is to be the next AM kit saw. and just because walt has personal preference, doesn't mean the rest of the world shares that or that it would be popular enough to support kit saw status.

the 272 chassis I think has good am support so far, so its possible that one will show up as a kit. but husky already has the 372 in kit form... so though they are different animals, why be redundant. the 288 wouldn't be redundant... the 242 wouldn't be redundant... just more a question of which would be popular.

theres probably not much need to clone the 029,290, 390 series... those are readily available still and relatively inexpensive to pick up used (likely very little differential between used oem and new kit saw)

I'm trying to get one of these i can get 365 372 381 660 090 070s but the 272s are harder to find for some reason maybe popularity.

 

[Mattyo]

EMAS even stole the husky logo ... just put an E instead of an H ... wow. looks like a pretty accurate knock off though.

yes, I do need to run a 254 and see. my dad has a 257 and a 261 both stock. I have run those. I can see how the 254 might be slightly more compact and slightly lighter ... but I guess personally if I wanted a lighter saw than my ported 262 i'd grab my 350.

whats interesting is how different everyone's preferences are. to each his own. i personally prefer the low top on my 394xp.. looks kinda goofy but its way cheaper than those big felt filters and high top setup.

in any case who knows whats gonna show up in the am... we shall see!

 

[Lootbug]

I'd like to see a 346 or 357 kit. Seems like the medium to large range is pretty well covered with the kits already available. So something on the smaller side would be cool.

 

[wcorey]

Matty, just to clarify, 254 has the same stroke as a 262 but a longer rod.

 

[David Young]

Partner 5000 plus
+1 on the 346

 

[danimal]

242!

 

[dustinwilt68]

I would be happy with either the 242xp or the 288xp, better would be booth.lol. I figure the 242 can cover anything up to the 372 kit they already have and then the 288 takes it from there.

 

[stihl_head1982]

Not a kit but 435.00 free ship ebay 070 there's some positive reviews on youtube.View attachment 55855

Some local guy is selling these on Craigslist as a "MS070"

 

[Czed]

Some local guy is selling these on Craigslist as a "MS070"

Some guy bought one and called me he paid 550.00 for it somewhere and said he just wanted his money back lol i texted him the ebay pic he was pissed he thought he scored a nib 070 lol

 

[Czed]

Wish he would have brought it anyway i would have tried it out there's some good reviews on youtube.

 

[jake wells]

Some guy bought one and called me he paid 550.00 for it somewhere and said he just wanted his money back lol i texted him the ebay pic he was pissed he thought he scored a nib 070 lolView attachment 56082

$550.00 boat anchor.

 

[Mattyo]

Matty, just to clarify, 254 has the same stroke as a 262 but a longer rod.

Thanks Bill, indeed I thought it had a different stroke... guess different crank doesn't = different stroke ...

shorter rod would make things slightly more compact. interesting... thanks

 

[Iron.and.bark]

Some local guy is selling these on Craigslist as a "MS070"

As I have said before, 070 is being sold by stihl as an ms model in Africa (maybe other countries or continents).

Sold as a ms-720, fully legit stihl saw.