MS261c New Saw First Impressions

[Firemoore98]

Whenever I read one of these threads on a "state-of-the art" small Stihl M-Tronic saw and all the troubles surrounding them, I usually go out to the garage, pat my Husky 353 on the shroud, wonder over to my Stihl 026 PRO, pat it on the shroud, and then have a good night's sleep.

Don't knock it till ya tried it. M-Tronic works well and has many benefits, that have proven themselves many times over for this once skeptic.

Jason


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[Ryan'smilling]

Whenever I read one of these threads on a "state-of-the art" small Stihl M-Tronic saw and all the troubles surrounding them, I usually go out to the garage, pat my Husky 353 on the shroud, wonder over to my Stihl 026 PRO, pat it on the shroud, and then have a good night's sleep.

I hear what you're saying, for sure, and I like my basic carbed saws too, but when I'm going out thinning for half a winter's day in my woods and I'm gonna start and stop the saw 30 times, that 261 is the best. It's got WAY better air filtration than an 026, better AV too. It's also got a switch that returns to the run position after it's been shut off, plus it fires on half a pull. And it has captive bar nuts. And mine has heated handles. So, yeah an 026 or 353 will do the job, but man that 261 makes it more enjoyable by a nice margin.

I'd like to have an 026 also, and heck a couple of 50cc Huskys too, but for something I'm gonna use all the time, the 261 is awesome.

 

[blsnelling]

The MS261 is a great saw and I'm a huge fan of 50cc saws. I would go as far as to call the 261 best in class. However, once ported, the MS241C is a game changer for me.

 

[Firemoore98]

[emoji1312]definitely one of the great forum members, who's reasearch in the form of forum posts and YouTube videos helped me shape my 2 saw plan.

Thank you sir

Jason


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[hedge hog]

Sweet and here I thought I was the only one

Started with a ms 250 and figured all the hedge I was cutting would wear it out in 3 years
So I got 441 cm 20" for a hell of a replacement of of primary saw and it work great and never bothered with the 250 because it was to slow

But now 261 with a 20"
And a 026 with a 18" are my primary saws
261 cm 20" would make a one plan for sure
The air filter is unreal compared to the 026



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[etec800r]

Recently I sold my ms201TC and with those proceeds I purchased a brand new Stihl MS261C (new version, 45 degree cylinder, lightened up etc). I was trying to consolidate the fleet to a solid 2 saw plan that fit my firewood and property maintenance needs. Momma is expecting our first child so a three saw plan isn't financially in the cards, too many other projects or I would have kept the MS201TC. Currently I have a MS441C and my new MS261C as my two saw plan.

As you may or may not know, Stihl dropped the price of the ms261c w/18" bar to $569 here in the us. My dealer showed me where he paid that back in December and the dealer was getting kinda screwed by the new lower msrp. In another thread I discussed and polled you fellas about dealer shopping vs building a relationship and I opted to pay suggested retail of $569 and not shop around or try to beat him up on price. He threw in a chain and let me switch the original chain to a RS full chisel.

Enough background crap... how did she run??? She ran very well, minimal fatigue, great fuel efficiency and impressive cutting ability. I am very pleased with the purchase and my current 2 saw plan.

The bad... the brand new RS full chisel chains had a bit of "chatter", putting the calipers on the teeth I can see they aren't exactly the same length. I think my Timberline sharpener will take care of this as it has on all my other chains, I just haven't cut with a new chain in a while. It cut fast and produced large chips, just not as smooth as I'm used to, chattered just a bit, nothing terrible. Secondly the stihl bar nose got bound up twice and wouldn't spin... twice I had to take the chain off and get a pick, and air compressor and clean out the nose, I was cutting reasonable clean wood, oiler turned up and never hit the dirt and had proper chain tension. This is the first time I have used a NON Sugihara bar in a couple years and I could tell a difference. I am a fan of greasable bar tips like the Sugihara.

Put a very nice dent in this pipe of bucked up logs, very impressive fuel economy. I think my ms441 or older ms290 (no longer own don't yell at me) would have been more like 2 tanks to cut this many rounds.

In summary of your contemplating the ms261c or other similar size/weight saw for 80% general use and firewood cutting please do yourself a favor and do it. To go through a full tank and have zero fatigue is a great thing, I'm not in the worst shape, I'm not in the best, I am just trying to say this class of saw will allow me to work longer and therefore get more work done in a day without deterioration in safety practices or good quality cutting form as usually happens when I get tired.

2 questions:
Anyone know where I can score a Sugihara 18" 325 .063 bar? I checked eBay and a few other places, only one I found is international shipping and I try to avoid that if possible.

Anyone know the part # for the outerwear air filter sock? I run one on my ms441 and it's really a nice setup.

Jason


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I am sure you already know the number for the pre-filter but might help someone else out. “Outerwear 20-1114” I do love my MS261!


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[Wood Doctor]

Beware of this mechanical design: the throttle control.

This has a tendency to wear out at the connection point.