windthrown
361 Junkie
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.
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.