The balance with longer bars is my biggest issue. Weight isn’t too big a deal, I’d rather have it balanced than the powerhead be really light. I also really don’t like the way the whole top cover is one piece and how there’s no distinct air box. The AV is also really soft. I get that it’s a spring system, but Stihl had a really good setup on the 361, 441 & 661 with springs, and Husqvarna has been doing it for longer than Stihl. It also, largely by virtue of a very short stroke, doesn’t pull a longer bar as well as a 46, 441 or even a 440 and the 44 series has less displacement than this saw.
With that said, it is very light for its displacement, accelerates very quickly, and you can flick it around with a short bar real easily. I can probably adjust my cutting style to keep it wound up more with a long bar, but the way I cut it’s frustrating. With a 28 it’s real nose heavy witch makes limbing hard when I limb by flicking the nose around so there’s no need to bend over.
It’s just not designed where it fits in with how I cut or maintain my equipment. The prior generation works with how I work. Maybe that’s because I learned, around the new millenium, how to work with the prior generation of equipment on 044s, 046s, 371/372s, 385s, 660s, 440s & 460s and now I’ll gradually adapt to the new stuff the same way I have with heavy equipment and CNC machine tools. Time will tell. If I can’t, I’ll probably find a Husqvarna dealer and start running 572s. I am also interested in getting my paws on the 500i and see how it does.
One last thing-the clutch cover is anemic as all get out. I really like the captured nuts, though.