It is December, the ms500i watch game

[thinair]

Stopped in my local dealer for the first time in about a year and they just happened to get an MS500i in today. I walked out the door with it. $1309 with 25” bar and a free chain, not including sales tax.

The dealer here in BC has the 500i pho for $1499, so that’s around $1150usd. Not as bad as I thought they were going to be...

 

[InfiniteJest]

Ok I found a more consistent chunk of wood, had to break the video into two parts as I used different sections. Seen a lot of videos of folks cutting mostly twigs, so this should give a better idea where these saws stand, but as always YMMV. there is + and - with each saw including the 572xp it does have some thing I really like. The vid will be live @ 2:00

How smooth does the 500 feel in the hands compared to the 572?

 

[KarlD]

The saw continues to impress me and I’m using it whenever I can as hard as I can. It doesn’t have the character of an older or flawed saw, but so far is a reliable pleasure to use

 

[Andyshine77]

So far it definitely feels smoother, but a need more time to be sure. Now the AV on the 572 is more firm, so maybe a small trade off for a slightly more solid feel.

 

[Andyshine77]

The dealer here in BC has the 500i pho for $1499, so that’s around $1150usd. Not as bad as I thought they were going to be...

I've spoken with a few friends in Canada, and Stihl saws are a bit cheaper, while Husqvarna's are more expensive, the exact opposite here.

 

[pl_silverado]

The dealer here in BC has the 500i pho for $1499, so that’s around $1150usd. Not as bad as I thought they were going to be...

Not bad at all, I would have bought pho in a heartbeat but my dealer was not selling it in any other configuration than they had it in.

I found another dealer with lightweight bars in stock, bought a 28. Have a regular 20 es mounted on the saw right now.

Anyone need a 25” ES with 2 brand new RS Chains ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

7 months of use out west and he mentions alot of dislikes.

 

[Brushwacker]

There was 2 on the shelves in Rennsalaer, IN last week . I took a look at 1, but when i saw the price tag put it down fairly quick. Then i looked at an ms661 and it was only about $50 more.
I have an old 064 and ms660 that make me plenty happy with less money invested and their easy to work on if they need it. I don't recollect a single problem with the 660 yet other then cleaning the fuel system when i bought it a decade + ago. Had to replace the coil on the 064 but it must of been every bit of 25 years old.

 

[thinair]

7 months of use out west and he mentions alot of dislikes.

Its tough to watch his videos all the way through with how annoying his voice is. Hopefully dislikes and problems are two different things. So far the guys on the west coast of Vancouver island got about 40 500’s a few months ago and they will definitely find weak points of any saw. Im sure time will tell on these new 500’s...

 

[Andyshine77]

Its tough to watch his videos all the way through with how annoying his voice is. Hopefully dislikes and problems are two different things. So far the guys on the west coast of Vancouver island got about 40 500’s a few months ago and they will definitely find weak points of any saw. Im sure time will tell on these new 500’s...

The guy know his stuff, but he doesn't like outsiders. Tried to have a civil discourse with him, didn't happen lol.[emoji869]

Not crazy about the filter setup, I though about adding a metal washer to give more down force if the fastener gets worn out "doubtful with my use and lineup" Don't think the AV will be an issue with tree services, or firewood hacks like myself.

 

[KarlD]

7 months of use out west and he mentions alot of dislikes.

That’s a decent vid and relevant observations. The 500i is kind of on a pedestal and as such all sorts of people are actively looking for problems. As we all know the real and true test will be time; Stihl, Husqvarna, Jonsered, Dolmar etc have all made far far more good saws than bad so the odds are in our favour.
My take-aways from the video are:
1. Don’t use the saw as an axe/hammer
2. The AV should stand up to 99% of saw use technique...except when you want to wobble it and flip the saw left to right quicker than a small ferret
3. Out the box as a stock saw against other stock saws it is in the top 3
I have colleagues that are literally salivating at the possibility that my 500i is going to go pop or need to be plugged into Stihl every year to fix niggles...so far so good...but who knows what the next 3 years of use will bring

 

[thinair]

Not crazy about the filter setup, I though about adding a metal washer to give more down force if the fastener gets worn out "doubtful with my use and lineup" Don't think the AV will be an issue with tree services, or firewood hacks like myself.

The Build By Sean Uni filter look to be a huge upgrade, I got a few on order. If they are anything like the maxflow i think they will be great!

 

[KarlD]

The Build By Sean Uni filter look to be a huge upgrade, I got a few on order. If they are anything like the maxflow i think they will be great!

Do you have a link to the filter that you could let me have please?

 

[Andyshine77]

The Build By Sean Uni filter look to be a huge upgrade, I got a few on order. If they are anything like the maxflow i think they will be great!

Good info sir.

 

[rwoods]

That’s a decent vid and relevant observations. The 500i is kind of on a pedestal and as such all sorts of people are actively looking for problems. As we all know the real and true test will be time; Stihl, Husqvarna, Jonsered, Dolmar etc have all made far far more good saws than bad so the odds are in our favour.
My take-aways from the video are:
1. Don’t use the saw as an axe/hammer
2. The AV should stand up to 99% of saw use technique...except when you want to wobble it and flip the saw left to right quicker than a small ferret
3. Out the box as a stock saw against other stock saws it is in the top 3
I have colleagues that are literally salivating at the possibility that my 500i is going to go pop or need to be plugged into Stihl every year to fix niggles...so far so good...but who knows what the next 3 years of use will bring

For him to put it in the top three out of the box performance in his experience of running saws is saying something in my book. Over the years, the guy has probably run every saw held so dearly by many.

I am looking forward to buying one. I doubt this firewood hack will be too concerned with HS101’s dislikes.

Ron

 

[Andyshine77]

For him to put it in the top three out of the box performance in his experience of running saws is saying something in my book. Over the years, the guy has probably run every saw held so dearly by many.

I am looking forward to buying one. I doubt this firewood hack will be too concerned with HS101’s dislikes.

Ron

Agreed. I've ran a saw or two in my day, old and new, the 500i is up there when it comes to performance, reminds me a little bit of the a modern day Poulan 5200 and the early Dolmar 7900.

 

[bayard]

i went to 3 stihl dealers in ct last week and they said, can not get a 500i at all?

 

[InfiniteJest]

So far it definitely feels smoother, but a need more time to be sure. Now the AV on the 572 is more firm, so maybe a small trade off for a slightly more solid feel.

Ok thanks. My left arm/hand do not like vibes.
The dealer's been after me to demo one, so maybe I will grab it for a week.

 

[oldfortyfive]

Picked one up yesterday. Throttle response is awesome. Won't get to use it for a week or two

 

[thinair]

Do you have a link to the filter that you could let me have please?

Send him an email, [email protected]

Hope this helps