MS 361 with a GB 24 inch bar...

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windthrown

361 Junkie
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Sep 24, 2006
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The longbar PNW
I was in on the online AS GB Pro top bar sale a while back. I picked up a pair of them; a 16 inch and a 24/25 inch. I finally got to slap on the 24 inch on my 361 and go out and test it (after travelling out of state and getting nailed by the largest sotm in the PNW in about 10 years).

Before I post about that though a word about the GB bars: They are perfect bars and they are beautues. ScottWojo put them up on a one-time deal on AS, and as usual, the AS FLAME PATROL bashed the holy :censored: out of him for putting on the discount GB bar sale, several AS sponsors gave him nothing but unecessary and unprofessional crap, and a lot of AS posters showed their ugly colors. Sad that... anyway, the bars were cheaper than I could have gotten them anyplace else, they are in perfect shape, and I got them really fast via UPS delivered right to my front door. No defects, dings, rip-offs, back-orders, knock-offs, dead sprocket noses, or other issues as predicted by several on AS, and there was zero BS at all in the whole process, really. My thanks to ScottWojo for putting up with all the mud slinging on AS and sticking it out, going through with the process and making good on the deal. I would not have put up with what he did, and he is a better person becasue of it in my book. You da man Scott!

So, on to the 24 inch GB Pro Top bar on a MS 361... a lot of people say that a 24 is too long a bar for a 361. After today? I say bull :censored: That saw runs great with the GB Pro Top 24 inch bar and new Stihl full comp (not skip) RM chain on it. I think it is a toss-up between the 20 inch and the 24 being the best bars for the 361. I have been running my 361 with an 18 and a 20, and they are about the same. But the 24 gives it a whole new dimention. Longer bar, more wood, and cut faster. I dropped an 18 inch oak tree (California Black Oak, about 40 ft tall) and bucked it up and noodled it into split firewood in about an hour. This is hard oak mind you, not doug fir or softer grand fir. No problems. It did bog a bit when I pushed on it, but the 460 also did that (I can lever pretty hard on just about any saw and bog it down).

So, the final verdict is that the GB Pro Top bars are very very nice bars. I think that they are a tad better than Stihl ES bars (I have some of them too). Small difference in them that stand out are the oil holes and the look of the bar, as well as the feel on the saw. Also the MS 361 has no problems driving a 24 inch bar, and I can see why so many Stihl dealers around here sell them with that length bar on them. I do not know what it is about people insisting on using shorter bars... I run a 20 inch on the 290 most of the time. I suspect thet the 24 inch is going to stay on the 361 most of the time here. It is a tad bar heavy, but the center of gravity is not that far ahead of the top handle. I hardly noticed it cutting today. No, today I was grinning becasue I liked the new bar so much. Smooth, makes bigger cuts, I can deck larger trees from one side, yadda yadda.
 
Good report, glad you like it and the transaction. This gives me hope for getting a 24" for the HomeDemar6401. I got a closeout deal on a 16" for the 357xp but I find it to be no faster than the 20"(especially if you need to make 2 cuts) and too small for most firewood cutting/ripping, just not very practical, 16" can stay on the 026. Does you GB bar have an odd DL count? Can make it harder to buy pre-made loops on sale, my 20" is 70DL for instance.
 
... a lot of people say that a 24 is too long a bar for a 361. After today? I say bull :censored: That saw runs great with the GB Pro Top 24 inch bar and new Stihl full comp (not skip) RM chain on it. wood, and cut faster. . I do not know what it is about people insisting on using shorter bars... I run a 20 inch on the 290 most of the time. I suspect thet the 24 inch is going to stay on the 361 most of the time here. It is a tad bar heavy, but the center of gravity is not that far ahead of the top handle. I hardly noticed it cutting today. No, today I was grinning becasue I liked the new bar so much. Smooth, makes bigger cuts, I can deck larger trees from one side, yadda yadda.

Plus you didn't have to bend over so far to block that oak. I suspect all the insisting on a 20" max bar is from people who are simply repeating the opinions of others who even themselves have never tried a 24-25" bar on a 361. And please, let's not start on the balance thing.
 
I had run a 361 with the 25 inch bar buried in Madrona, and it handled it just fine. However I do run RSF chain though, RM chains are hard to find around here.
 
No big deal, doing numbers, speed counts, when I find my 60cc stihl outpaced by 372's and 440/044's, dropping trees pretty fast as in just two cuts, stickin' on a longer bar swiftly learnt waste of time, short bar sharp chain on 60cc matches normal 70cc tree for tree, but at 16" - 18" diameter trees, the 60cc stihl is pretty much out and done for with at 18" bar/18" tree, while the 70cc's power on, but on 8" - 10" diameter trees, 30 ft high, even an 026 is fast
 
Nice post, I have tried the 25" on mine with no noticeable difference.
 
I had run a 361 with the 25 inch bar buried in Madrona, and it handled it just fine. However I do run RSF chain though, RM chains are hard to find around here.

I have found that the smaller Stihl shops do not have all the chain types. I bought the 25 inch RM loop at the Eugene (larger) Stihl store. $25 clams. They have all sizes and types in stock, as well as the itty bitty odd parts. I really like the RM for this type of cutting (dirt, soil and deposits in the bark, some sparking as I cut). It stays sharper longer. And it cuts. If you buy enough loops, ask the dealer near you to buy a 100 ft roll and pop together loops.

Madrone is about as hard as you are gonna get up here. Oak is not far behind that though. I was surprised with the saw's response in oak with the 25 inch bar. I had read all the tales on AS that it will not pull that size bar in hardwood, yadda yadda. As Arnie says in T2, "No problemo..." OK, its not as fast as the 460 was. I did not expect it to be. But... it dropped that tree in a hurry just the same. And as someone else posted, its easier to buck/block it not having to lean over so far.

To answer another question, the GB bar wears a standard Stihl 25 inch chain right out of the box. No odd count links to deal with. 84 links.
 
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do you think it could pull a 28 with skip chain?


Of course it will - "pulling" a given chain lenght is, within reason, mostly a question on how patient you are........

It is a meaningless expression, really.

Then there is the weight and balance issue........:biggrinbounce2: :laugh: :laugh: :blob2: :blob2:
 
do you think it could pull a 28 with skip chain?

West coast long bar disease, eh? Heh heh heh...

Yah, it will probably run it. Though my MS 361 Stihl book (hand on heart) recommends a 25 inch bar as the maximum. I do not think that there is that much of an issue with friction on the chain from the added bar length (I think you may want to crank up the bar oiler). There are 1/3 fewer teeth in a full skip, so in the number teeth cutting, it is going to pull about like an 18 inch bar. However, as Troll mentions, you are going to have a lot more bar length in contact in larger diameter wood, and so the cut is going to be slower as a result.
 
Here she be...

A photo of the 24 inch Pro Top GB bar on the Stihl MS361 on top of about 3/4 of a cord of oak in the back of the Ford PU (below is the Stihl 025):

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And of course my cat Milo just had to investigate... (free cat scan):

attachment.php
 
I can believe it. Running a long bar in medium size wood is not much different than running a medium bar in medium wood as far as the saw having the power to cut it. The only factor there is the oiler keeping the bar and chain lubed. I had my 361 with a 24" bar buried in cherry and it did fairly well. I was running skip chain tho. If you're happy with it now, mod the muffler like Lake suggested and put a 460 HO oiler in it so the 24" bar is happier and go for it. :)

Ian
 
Thanks For the kind words.

Well in that whole fiasco, there were a few glitches.
there was one miscommunication over chain, one guy thought he was buying Titainium bars when he paid for and recieved Pro top bars. And three members bars were backordered.
I Corrected the chain order and refunded the Protop bars. He did not like the Titinium price (my cost) and didn't not want the protop bars. I told him he could have listed them on eBay or sold them here for a profit, no interest. So he just sent them back to me. No problems, and he was happy with the refund.
Then the three backorders were informed about the situation as soon as I was notified from GB. All were happy to wait. One of them was a big old 60" titainium bar. The buyer got a really great deal on that.
All in all, I feel it was a great oopurtunity for people who normally might not want to buy a nicer bar get the chance to try a Titainium, or pro topper.
But with the few problems and the tight price, it was actually a money losing venture. There were mistakes make in the larger bar shipping quotes and I refunded shipping to the buyer who returned his two protops. But all very worth the positive exposure.
Thanks to all who participated and gave me the chance. I think I will make this a thread for those to leave feedback on the experiance.

Scott.
 
Well, I went up and dropped another medium size oak today. A 22 inch DBH. Then I cut it up and filled the PU again... this is really cutting down my time (pun intended) for cutting firewood! There is another PU load left to cut up there tomorrow. Then the oak firewood bins will be filled and I can slack off on firewood cutting until spring.

Dunno if I will ever need another 24 inch bar, let alone Titanium. More likely to need some smaller .325 and picco bars as they get trashed up here pretty fast thinning and limbing.
 

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