Is it worth it to big bore an MS311?

[Bob Hedgecutter]

OEM MS-391 top end is $365.00

Really makes it hard to justify putting that kind of change into a mid tier saw.

Really wasnt expecting that kind of premium for a mid tier top end...do people actually have these saws rebuilt with oem parts?

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Just wondering, are you not entitled to some kind of trade discount, seeing as how you are professional and all, not just a backyarder operating from a car garage attached to the house?

 

[cuinrearview]

Some folks add value to saws when they cross their bench. Some consistently turn out repairs worth less than when they arrived. In my professional opinion, I'd salvage all the OEM I could and return something nice to the customer. I'm just a hack in the barn unattached from my house though...

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Just wondering, are you not entitled to some kind of trade discount, seeing as how you are professional and all, not just a backyarder operating from a car garage attached to the house?

Before the local deere dealer became the local stihl dealer, the old stihl dealer would definitely work with us smaller guys. The small local stihl dealer went belly up and its now the deere dealer or another shop across town that frankly doesnt care if they sell a part or a saw...they don't give any deals. They ask 275 for a low compression 260 missing parts. I do get breaks thru like Stens, Dixie Sales/Briggs, rotary, Echo/Bearcat/Shindaiwa, and I buy oil in bulk when a good deal pops up on amazon for..like 11.97 for 5qts of Valvoline 10w30 ill get 5 or 6 of those.

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[RED-85-Z51]

Some folks add value to saws when they cross their bench. Some consistently turn out repairs worth less than when they arrived. In my professional opinion, I'd salvage all the OEM I could and return something nice to the customer. I'm just a hack in the barn unattached from my house though...

On customer stuff if oem can be salvaged thats always ideal. But i know full well what the dealers are telling people their options are, if they are talking to me. Last week i was very happy to restore a cooked 660 mag cylinder and use a good oem piston for a customer. He'd just bought the saw and was sold a bag of lies...paid top dollar for a burnt up saw. Last i priced one a new oem piston and rings was 115 and a whole top end was 450. I did the whole job same day, cylinder cleaned up perfectly and it ran like a top. He says he prefers it over his 395xp and after running his 395xp i agree.

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[Bob Hedgecutter]

Before the local deere dealer became the local stihl dealer, the old stihl dealer would definitely work with us smaller guys. The small local stihl dealer went belly up and its now the deere dealer or another shop across town that frankly doesnt care if they sell a part or a saw...they don't give any deals. They ask 275 for a low compression 260 missing parts. I do get breaks thru like Stens, Dixie Sales/Briggs, rotary, Echo/Bearcat/Shindaiwa, and I buy oil in bulk when a good deal pops up on amazon for..like 11.97 for 5qts of Valvoline 10w30 ill get 5 or 6 of those.

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So which tractor franchise do you personally work for and which shop do you operate out of?
Is your shop situated on a main traffic route or in an industrial area?
Well sign written and advertised?
Sounds like being the only dedicated saw service centre in town would be a goldmine if marketed well.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

There are tons of small engine shops in town, but 2 have the monopoly on Stihl. There are 2 main stihl shops, 2 echo, 4 husqvarna and the rest of the small shops just service with no lines fully supported exclusively. When i worked for an echo dealer for 3 years they had been refusing Stihl work until i worked there and refused it again after i left.

My shop is a 18x24 barn with a walk around upstairs on a slab, situated on an acre of land in a rural area. A sign would do no good because anyone coming down this road either knows im here or is coming here[emoji28]. I started out in 2004 after graduating HighSchool, a major Hurricane hit us and i started fixing people's saws, generators, bobcat skidders, cherry pickers..etc. I hadnt planned on this being my career but it just happened. I took a 1200 hour small engine course and was offered the teaching position after completing it...i turned it down. I became licensed in my state and advertised...i got very busy and have remained busy ever since without advertising since 2012...purely word of mouth from satisfied customers. With low overhead i can do very well on a steady flow of work and occasionally buying and selling some equipment mainly in the off season.

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[RED-85-Z51]

The local used stihl market summed up in one ad...

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[Patrick62]

around here a 391 isnt enough power to pull a 24" bar

 

[RED-85-Z51]

around here a 391 isnt enough power to pull a 24" bar

Most of the saws i see have bars at the upper limit of what they will run. 260s and 261s almost always have 20" or longer here.

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[Bob Hedgecutter]

Most of the saws i see have bars at the upper limit of what they will run. 260s and 261s almost always have 20" or longer here.

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Must grow a lot of Cottonwood around your patch of Earth then- or there is a lot of overcompensating going on.

 

[Justin Taylor]

Not very often. It is priced OEM high to put the saw in the disposable tool range. Fairly common junked saw, beware of used ones as they often have an AM cylinder set. Ask your dealer if that is $365.00 installed, warrantied? The 311 set was a good bit cheaper. Been awhile however I think the 311 was in the $240 ish range.

The ms 311 is $480 ish range

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

The ms 311 is $480 ish range

?? $480 just for an OEM top end kit....... or the entire saw brand new off the shelf?

 

[Justin Taylor]

Got an MS311, pulls a 25" bar alright, starts okay...piston looks alright. But, MS391 top end bolts on and it made more power. Just wondering if anyone has made that swap, and if it was worth doing for any gains?

Not sure what an OEM top end goes for, but im going up to the local stihl dealer tomorrow so ill ask. I know i can get a Hyway Nikasil with pop up piston and caber rings around 160.00 (cuinrearview's eye just twitched)..


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Yes I’d say it’s worth it if you blew the saw up but if not then don’t bother my ms 311 pulls a 25 in bar cutting stumps down all the time (the only purpose it has for me since it’s a half wrap/backup saw)

 

[Justin Taylor]

?? $480 just for an OEM top end kit....... or the entire saw brand new off the shelf?

Sorry the whole saw is $560*

 

[cuinrearview]

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Must grow a lot of Cottonwood around your patch of Earth then- or there is a lot of overcompensating going on.

Oak, pine, gum, pecan, maple, chinaberry, popcorn...

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[Bob Hedgecutter]

Oak, pine, gum, pecan, maple, chinaberry, popcorn...

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So it is the overcompensating then.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

So it is the overcompensating then.

Absolutely. Its also nice not to have to lean very far while limbing.

Ive never seen a 311 or 391 with under a 20" bar...

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[Bob Hedgecutter]

Absolutely. Its also nice not to have to lean very far while limbing.

Ive never seen a 311 or 391 with under a 20" bar...

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Yep, or burying it dawgs deep and putting a hell of a strain on everything under the covers. Each to their own.
Over here we work on the theory a big saw can handle what a small saw does, but a small saw shouldn't be asked to do what a big saw can.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Will be nice to noodle some 20+ inch logs.

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