New 550xp mark II

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Maybe the III will have a plastic clutch cover :innocent:.
Why wouldn't it run a 16x3/8, what are you cutting up there that the previous 550 won't cut with a 16x3/8 o_O.

Cutting maple and fir, some birch. Maple is as hard as we get around here. Haven't heard of guys liking 3/8 on a high revving limbing 550 before. Have you run it? I prefer 3/8 as I often get into dirty wood in logged out areas and it holds up a little better.

Ya, maybe they'll put out a mod on that clutch cover for the MkII in order to shave a pound & 5 ounces :p
 
Cutting maple and fir, some birch. Maple is as hard as we get around here. Haven't heard of guys liking 3/8 on a high revving limbing 550 before. Have you run it? I prefer 3/8 as I often get into dirty wood in logged out areas and it holds up a little better.

Ya, maybe they'll put out a mod on that clutch cover for the MkII in order to shave a pound :p
Doubt we'll see them drop a lb, but if it feels like a 254 and has as much power I'll like it a lot.
I run 325x18" on most of my 50cc saws, but I have a bunch of 50's(my favorite sawssto run) and I'm set up to grind any chain I need to. If there is any difference in the speed running a 16x3/8 over what I run I can't imagine it would be much and even if there was it would have to be negated by the durability of the 3/8's. I have ran 3/8 on my 50cc saws in the past I just have a lot of 325 so that's what I run on them.
 
:surprised3: subterfuge I say! Subterfuge!

caught them red handed in the act!! :dancing:
I didn't learn much, but that the case is longer and 1.5cm less effective bar length on the husky.
The other thing is that the stihl rm would be the obvious choice if it's just slightly slower as it should hold an edge much longer.
I was never over impressed with the 261, it's just another modern day 50cc saw, that being said I'm not so sure I'll be overly impressed with the mark II either.
It would have been great to see some tests with longer bars, I think that would have helped to separate them a little more in the cut times.
Yes the picco/lp cut a little quicker, the rim is larger so it picked up a little speed, I figured it would with a short bar.
 
never ran the stihl rm, usually run semi skip rs.

Kind of odd the new Mk2 has longer body and exposes less bar.

Was hoping to see more standout performance for the Mk2 but they did not hesitate to mention it has more snap acceleration than the 261.
 
never ran the stihl rm, usually run rs.

Kind of odd the new Mk2 has longer body and exposes less bar.

Was hoping to see more standout performance for the Mk2 but they did not hesitate to mention it has more snap acceleration than the 261.
Me too, but if they are getting performance that close, the rm should hold an edge much longer, especially in dirty conditions.
I heard they are pretty snappy.
Cottontop has a video on the 550 mark and it looked pretty good on there, I think he was running a 20", he was making a bunch of bore cuts and she seemed to be doing very well, I'll find it real quick.
Here you guys go, hope you got some time on your hands lol.
Cutting is at about 23:
 
Tale of 2 saws....

0B054377-AE50-4C87-99AF-B2F37E60FB65.jpeg Finally had some time to go to the wood pile. Using 18” bar with the new x-cut SP33G .325 chain. Very impressive, started 3rd pull on a dry tank and it rips. Felt faster than anything I ran on the same log earlier this week. I’m not a stop watch guy, sorry. Feels good, auto tune felt spot on, pulled hard, loving the new chain too. My previous gen 550 is a XPG that I bought just for cold weather so I put it back to warm weather configuration. It’s running a 20” Husqvarna .325 chain also. I didn’t do the run the same bar chain comparison so this is all based on feel but the Mark II definitely has more snort. I like the Mark II, by feel and ergonomics prolly couldn’t tell the difference blind folded. IF Running them blind folded could definitely feel slight advantage to Mark II. Would I run out to buy to replace a good saw for something newer prolly not. Needing a new 50cc I’d definitely go for it without hesitation. I run Stihl also but I don’t have 261 currently to do any side by side stuff.
D0D8CE95-1CE1-4EC9-8F3A-3ED705F5F067.jpeg
 
Finished a job today where I kept a 550 and a 562 on-hand and would switch back and forth based on diameters I was falling (nothing epic). The 550 could have made 90% of the cuts - but the 562 would make most of them faster. But the 562 is no good for taking apart a shrub colony. My saw partner switched between a 395 and a 576 all day - he would rather just make all the cuts as fast as possible. :)

I realized today I should probably get a new 50cc saw for a long job this summer, cutting 1-10" Spruce all day, every day. My 550 XP is over 800 hours now. I have had zero issues with it, aside from the drum deciding to disintegrate last month. How many hours can I get on it? I dunno. I just know that when working 20 minutes from pavement and 60 minutes from anywhere selling parts, etc., I would rather just have a new saw on hand ready to go when and if the time comes.

So I am mostly typing something in so this excellent website will automatically alert me when new reviews come in. I would have thought a few more folks have had this saw in their hands by now.

To me, working on a site all day, cutting all day - no firewood loading, etc. - just cutting, cutting, cutting and a lot of walking too, well Power:Weight ratio is very important. And even with small 50cc saws, fatigue eventually relates to safety on a long day. So I can't say I am very pleased to read that the Mark II will be adding a pound of weight.

Meanwhile, economics come into play too. I would guess that quite soon I will be able to buy the final production version of the 550 XP from my dealer (largest by volume of saws sold in my state) for a very good price vs. this new Mark II. And I generally don't buy a saw the first year it is on the market, anyway.

I should note here that it is worth remembering that the 550 XP has had - 3 ? Carbs now? - at least 2 different ones, for sure. And I learned the other day that there have been 5 different ignition modules along the way too. When these are hooked up to a laptop the correct ignition module has to be confirmed to get all the stats and firmware updates, etc., correct.

So I figure the final version of the 550 XP Mark I is probably pretty darn good. (Mine is early 2016). So ... why would I want to spend a likely extra $50 - $100 for the latest and greatest?

Even higher fuel efficiency does appeal to me though. Maybe worth an extra pound of weight. Even though I replaced the carb in my beloved and trusty old 346 XP, I know I will hardly ever run it again because of the fuel efficiency, and will probably soon give it to a curmudgeonly friend of mine who still refuses to touch an AutoTune saw of any kind. Doing the same work in the same wood with a 346 and 550 is pretty eye opening.


[This thread also had some 3/8 vs .325 talk on the Mk I - I run 3/8 on mine. Sometimes I wonder why. It is probably because my Dad always ran 55s and 455s and those came with 3/8, but the XP versions of 50cc come with .325 instead. So I would always switch them up to 3/8 because that made it easier to use bars and chains all the way to the end. And I like 3/8 and am used to it. But I do kind of want to try .325, going forward, just to see. But when anyone asks what kind of wood I cut, I have to say - "every kind" - at once, in the same hour, on the same job - green wood, dead wood, large wood, small wood, hard wood, soft wood, deciduous species, conifer species (pure Spruce job a one-off); I try to carefully avoid the dirty wood the best I can. So I have a hard time following chain recommendations and don't really know the smartest choice there sometimes.]

[[My 562XP has also offered flawless performance but it probably doesn't have 100 hours on it, and I don't often have a job with diameters that really call for it - and I haven't tried to run it all day on a really hot summer day, yet. I have no plans to replace it for years to come. I believe I have the 2nd, re-designed cylinder cover so that probably helps, and I deleted the decompression button too.]]
 
I have a new Mark II XPG ran a tank thru it and sent it to Michigan for Kevin (XS) to port, you could tell a noticable gain on just the one tank I ran. I had a 2253 and the weight difference was not noticable to me. I run a 20" .325 on it, only cause I got a good deal on the Stihl RS at an auction. After that I will likely try 18" 3/8 on it. Filter design is really nice.
 
nice to be starting to hear some feedback on this new saw.

I was up the hill yesterday cutting a windfall 3' across fir with my 562xp.

My 562xp was 12 lbs 8 oz dry, new out of the box in 2013. I too am wavering back and forth on this new MkII saw mainly because it's now 11 lbs 13 oz dry :nofunny: too darn close in weight to my 562.

The argument for going for a version 1 550xp that has had many revisions makes some sense as it should be rock solid by now, might be the best way to go for anyone looking close at weight factor and willing to take the slight hit in performance. I'm also still toying with idea of buying a 261 c-m which are on sale around here right now.
 
Was by my shop yesterday. They had just an XPG Mark II (heated handles, adds only 1 oz. weight) to pick up and play with. But I could feel the difference easily. Edit: by this I mean the Mk I / Mk II difference.

The owner related that it is felt the Mark II has a higher center of gravity in the power head; less ‘bottom heavy’ than the first 550 design. This should improve the balance, he suggested. I have never not liked the balance on my Mark I, so... and a lot of balance feel flows from what bar you run, and even same length bars from diff. manufacturers can change that, though perhaps that is more true on saws bigger than the 50cc class.

I asked how long I could still buy a Mark I and he said I was the 2nd person to ask him that just yesterday. So he picked up his phone and called his rep, but an answer didn’t come back while I was there. He does have another shipment of 15 Mark I’s arriving soon, so they are still around. I think I will be OK to pick one up in late May when I go back to saw work.

The 550 Mark II XPG was at $685.

His 550 Mark I XP was at $540. I do not know the G not-G prices for the 2 saws.



I don’t have time to copy/paste the #s right now, but Husqy’s website has a spec for fuel consumption on the Mk I and the Mk II. Not a dramatic improvement, but some. The final user manual for the 346, copyright 2014, does not have a similar stat to compare.
 
Was by my shop yesterday. They had just an XPG Mark II (heated handles, adds only 1 oz. weight) to pick up and play with. But I could feel the difference easily. Edit: by this I mean the Mk I / Mk II difference.

Are you referring to feeling the difference in weight or in a more general feel, or both?

and should we conclude your desire to now buy a version 1, that the difference in feeling/weight is causing you to prefer version 1?

thanks for your feedback.
 
I was just holding the power heads of a Mk I and a Mk II in my hands, without bars on them. No way to really get a feel for balance that way, wouldn't want to comment much on that. That's the way my shop displays all their saws, not much need to do it any other way for their customer base (who are just going to request their preferred bar at purchase anyway), but not how most shops do it.

I could feel the extra pound on the Mk II though.

Haven't picked up my friend's 261 yet to kind of finalize my next decision; am planting trees for the next 6 weeks anyway and will purchase then. But overall just leaning towards another Mk I as my 2016 version has been so solid. And that way I can keep it simple, because I can be stupid.
 
Lil update. I’ve had the Mark II on the job several times now. We had a job we needed to drop 20 pine trees, all were at least 40’ tall. Was using it for limbing all day and towards the end of the day when the big saws start to feel heavy used the 550 for all duties and it was performing all tasks beautifully. The new x chain husky put out is pretty awesome too.
 
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