A ranty on new husky

[MaddBomber]

I may be biased. I'll get that right out of the way. I'm a Stihl guy.
Ok. My personal experience; 2020 550xp. Bought brand new. The auto-tune is all over the place. Blowing smoke like crazy and just didn't run right about 85% of the time. I struggled and did the "30 second" return thing which fixed it for a day.
Drove 30 miles to the nearest dealer (yay Husqvarna, great job shutting down so many dealerships).
A week later I got the saw back. "Nothing wrong".
Spark plug is jet black and it still blows smoke like crazy.
An associate (Maltby); 572xp. Absolutely crap! Racing and had a serious lack of power. After months it was found to have blown a seal....on it's 10th tank!!
Zero dealer support.. nightmare to replace with an 8 month backorder.
Another associate (Frank Dembro at Asplundh); 572xp. Same issue. Less than a dozen tanks and it has a crank seal issue.... but this particular one actually lost it's entire plastic bearing cage. Sorry.. nylon.
Seriously??? How many years of development? Huge bearings....that are plastic. That was a good idea? On a mediocre saw that is overweight and underpowered by the direct competition???
I'm so confused.
Back to my 550. What the hell?
Bumper spikes (dawgs) are pitiful, with zero options to upgrade them. The saw runs great, when it decides too, yet the bar (husky x force) has it's paint smearing. Case already has dings and missing paint right under the muffler.
Meanwhile, my MS362 that has 42 tanks is flawless. Sheeeeit, even the sticker with the bar code is still undamaged.
Plus the 20" Stihl light bar is almost flawless..... And it's been through a helluva lot more than the husky.
People actually like these orange things??? Why? I get brand loyalty, but seriously?

 

[MaddBomber]

For reference, I have a MS462c muffmodded with 28 tanks through it
An MS362 with a mm and 42 tanks.
An MS260 ported and mm with close to 200 tanks.
A Jonsered 2065 ported with mm and uncountable tanks.
A Jonsered 2171 ported with mm and uncountable tanks.
An MS261c mm that was stolen.
A 550xp that's a nightmare of running way too rich. Passed all compression and vac/pressure tests yet runs like absolute poop compared to the Stihls.........that can be tuned in 90 seconds in my garage... Not some 30-35 second resistance cut...
Yay auto-tune.

 

[jchipps]

I may be biased. I'll get that right out of the way. I'm a Stihl guy.
Ok. My personal experience; 2020 550xp. Bought brand new. The auto-tune is all over the place. Blowing smoke like crazy and just didn't run right about 85% of the time. I struggled and did the "30 second" return thing which fixed it for a day.
Drove 30 miles to the nearest dealer (yay Husqvarna, great job shutting down so many dealerships).
A week later I got the saw back. "Nothing wrong".
Spark plug is jet black and it still blows smoke like crazy.
An associate (Maltby); 572xp. Absolutely crap! Racing and had a serious lack of power. After months it was found to have blown a seal....on it's 10th tank!!
Zero dealer support.. nightmare to replace with an 8 month backorder.
Another associate (Frank Dembro at Asplundh); 572xp. Same issue. Less than a dozen tanks and it has a crank seal issue.... but this particular one actually lost it's entire plastic bearing cage. Sorry.. nylon.
Seriously??? How many years of development? Huge bearings....that are plastic. That was a good idea? On a mediocre saw that is overweight and underpowered by the direct competition???
I'm so confused.
Back to my 550. What the hell?
Bumper spikes (dawgs) are pitiful, with zero options to upgrade them. The saw runs great, when it decides too, yet the bar (husky x force) has it's paint smearing. Case already has dings and missing paint right under the muffler.
Meanwhile, my MS362 that has 42 tanks is flawless. Sheeeeit, even the sticker with the bar code is still undamaged.
Plus the 20" Stihl light bar is almost flawless..... And it's been through a helluva lot more than the husky.
People actually like these orange things??? Why? I get brand loyalty, but seriously?

If you want to understand Husqvarna Brand Loyalty, you'd have to go back a few years to some of the models that created that Brand Loyalty such as the 2 Series ie: 242, 262, 272, 288, etc. (Arguably the BEST saws ever built).
I bought a brand new 288xp back in the 90's and kick myself everyday for ever selling it.

I totally understand your frustration, and have heard numerous horror stories about these "newer" EPA driven, Auto-tune saws. Another friend bought a 562xp and had NOTHING but trouble with it, especially the auto-tune crap. Hence the reason I personally wouldn't own one, even though I prefer Husqvarna saws.

It's the very reason that instead of buying a "NEW" saw several years ago, I instead bought a 1995 272xp off Flea-Bay and totally restored it with OEM parts. (pics attached))
By the time I finished, I probably ended up with as much or more $$$ in it as one of these newer saws cost, BUT, I now have a classic saw that's super dependable, easy to maintain, and will likely out-live these newer epa saws hands down, and I don't need a computer to tune it, just a small screw driver.

With all that said, I have nothing against Stihls. I always thought they were VERY good saws and I've owned a few over the years (Pre-EPA, M-tronic) that I liked extremely well. But I always thought the Stihls were just a little harder to work on than the Husky's and parts weren't as easily obtainable.

Anyway, try not to base your opinion of Husqvarna saws on your experience with that bad apple.
There are definitely Husqvarna saws out there that would change your opinion.

 

[SimonHS]

Have you tried the reset procedure by @afleetcommand and @spike60 ?

Three minutes at idle and then 45 to sixty seconds WOT under load.

 

[MaddBomber]

Have you tried the reset procedure by @afleetcommand and @spike60 ?

Three minutes at idle and then 45 to sixty seconds WOT under load.

Yes. That's how I do it. It does what it's supposed to and will run awesome for a bit, then start loading up again.
I really want to like this saw, and if it was running properly I'd prefer it over the MS261c for how nimble it feels.
I guess I just got a lemon.

 

[MaddBomber]

If you want to understand Husqvarna Brand Loyalty, you'd have to go back a few years to some of the models that created that Brand Loyalty such as the 2 Series ie: 242, 262, 272, 288, etc. (Arguably the BEST saws ever built).
I bought a brand new 288xp back in the 90's and kick myself everyday for ever selling it.

I totally understand your frustration, and have heard numerous horror stories about these "newer" EPA driven, Auto-tune saws. Another friend bought a 562xp and had NOTHING but trouble with it, especially the auto-tune crap. Hence the reason I personally wouldn't own one, even though I prefer Husqvarna saws.

It's the very reason that instead of buying a "NEW" saw several years ago, I instead bought a 1995 272xp off Flea-Bay and totally restored it with OEM parts. (pics attached))
By the time I finished, I probably ended up with as much or more $$$ in it as one of these newer saws cost, BUT, I now have a classic saw that's super dependable, easy to maintain, and will likely out-live these newer epa saws hands down, and I don't need a computer to tune it, just a small screw driver.

With all that said, I have nothing against Stihls. I always thought they were VERY good saws and I've owned a few over the years (Pre-EPA, M-tronic) that I liked extremely well. But I always thought the Stihls were just a little harder to work on than the Husky's and parts weren't as easily obtainable.

Anyway, try not to base your opinion of Husqvarna saws on your experience with that bad apple.
There are definitely Husqvarna saws out there that would change your opinion.

I absolutely agree! While I've never run a 200 series, I absolutely bow down to the early 300 series. Hence I own and treasure two red versions.
So easy to work on, noticeable gains from simple mods, tough and reliable.
I should have bought a used 2153. Hindsight 20/20.
I know the Swedes currently make some awesome saws. However, I found the customer service to be absolutely useless and the dealer, is so overwhelmed at the moment, they couldn't care less about their product.
They're was a 4 tier rack full of 500 series saws all with toe tags on them.
I guess that's why husky sells so many short block crankcases.
Again, when this saw runs right, it's incredible... Until it's not.

 

[Gord404]

Don't think I would put a gold star on either of the 2 - both companies build their fair share of junk saws and to the original post just rebuilt a 461 and it had nylon cage bearings, great saws though

 

[ElevatorGuy]

I’ll stick to orange and white!

 

[MaddBomber]

Don't think I would put a gold star on either of the 2 - both companies build their fair share of junk saws and to the original post just rebuilt a 461 and it had nylon cage bearings, great saws though

I know, and they've had their share of scrutiny.
My main issue is that the seals go inside the bearing on the new huskies....not in the case.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I may be biased. I'll get that right out of the way. I'm a Stihl guy.
Ok. My personal experience; 2020 550xp. Bought brand new. The auto-tune is all over the place. Blowing smoke like crazy and just didn't run right about 85% of the time. I struggled and did the "30 second" return thing which fixed it for a day.
Drove 30 miles to the nearest dealer (yay Husqvarna, great job shutting down so many dealerships).
A week later I got the saw back. "Nothing wrong".
Spark plug is jet black and it still blows smoke like crazy.
An associate (Maltby); 572xp. Absolutely crap! Racing and had a serious lack of power. After months it was found to have blown a seal....on it's 10th tank!!
Zero dealer support.. nightmare to replace with an 8 month backorder.
Another associate (Frank Dembro at Asplundh); 572xp. Same issue. Less than a dozen tanks and it has a crank seal issue.... but this particular one actually lost it's entire plastic bearing cage. Sorry.. nylon.
Seriously??? How many years of development? Huge bearings....that are plastic. That was a good idea? On a mediocre saw that is overweight and underpowered by the direct competition???
I'm so confused.
Back to my 550. What the hell?
Bumper spikes (dawgs) are pitiful, with zero options to upgrade them. The saw runs great, when it decides too, yet the bar (husky x force) has it's paint smearing. Case already has dings and missing paint right under the muffler.
Meanwhile, my MS362 that has 42 tanks is flawless. Sheeeeit, even the sticker with the bar code is still undamaged.
Plus the 20" Stihl light bar is almost flawless..... And it's been through a helluva lot more than the husky.
People actually like these orange things??? Why? I get brand loyalty, but seriously?

If you're a Stihl guy why did you buy a Husqvarna?

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Actually, I like some models of both Stihl and Husqvarna and I dislike certain models of both. I haven't found a newer version of either saw that I'm sold on so I just keep older versions, like a MS361 Stihl and a 346xp Husqvarna. I do have a model 61 Husky that seems okay.

 

[MaddBomber]

If you're a Stihl guy why did you buy a Husqvarna?

It was for my father. He's been a lifelong Jonsered guy, yet because of his age I wanted to get him something light. He'd be familiar with the controls and general operating procedures. Plus, I always thought the MS261 was a little bloated for a 50cc.
He suffered a debilitating stroke and subsequently gave the saw to me.
He never even put fuel in it.

 

[MaddBomber]

Actually, I like some models of both Stihl and Husqvarna and I dislike certain models of both. I haven't found a newer version of either saw that I'm sold on so I just keep older versions, like a MS361 Stihl and a 346xp Husqvarna. I do have a model 61 Husky that seems okay.

The 346xp is, in my opinion, the best 50cc ever made. Though it has a real problem staying upright on anything but the most level ground. Lol.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

The 346xp is, in my opinion, the best 50cc ever made. Though it has a real problem staying upright on anything but the most level ground. Lol.

Yeah, I noticed that too. That's not their only model with that problem..

 

[mbrick]

A big motivator for me is that you cant buy Stihl parts online (from a diagram at least). I hate this rule they enforce.

Husky parts diagrams and parts are easy to order.

Waiting for the "but Stihl don't need parts" not really the point though. Parts wear out or get damaged.

 

[Manitou]

M-tronics on the new Stihls are not any better than the Autotune Husqvarnas. The EPA has really hamstrung companies manufacturing 2-strokes.

 

[Manitou]

The 346xp is, in my opinion, the best 50cc ever made. Though it has a real problem staying upright on anything but the most level ground. Lol.

An 026 is a weeble-wobble too.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

An 026 is a weeble-wobble too.

I have an 026 Pro also but I'm not a big fan of them..

 

[a. palmer jr.]

M-tronics on the new Stihls are not any better than the Autotune Husqvarnas. The EPA has really hamstrung companies manufacturing 2-strokes.

You think it's bad now, wait and see what's coming up!

 

[Manitou]

You think it's bad now, wait and see what's coming up!

That’s why I horde the golden oldies, sir