New Makita 6401

[JTAbq]

I have been lurking on here for a while now, I own a Stihl 290 with an 18” bar that has been a good saw but I decided to upgrade this year. My budget was around $500. I went to my old Stihl dealer and he didn’t carry Stihl anymore but now was a Dolmar dealer. He was trying to sell me the 5100. It seemed like a nice saw but I had never heard of Dolmar before so I decided to do some more research. That is how I found you guys and the wealth of knowledge that exists on this site. After a bunch of reading here, I decided a Home Depot rental saw was the way to go and I could always upgrade to the big bore kit in the future. I called all the Home Depots in the area and none were for sale. I was told by two of them to try back in the spring. The early stages of what I hear is CAD was kicking in and I decided to go with the 5100. Went to the shop and the 5100 had been replaced with the 5104. A different sales guy this time and he couldn’t tell me what had changed. They had no literature on the new saw and instead he tried to sell me the 510 saying that was closer to the old 5100 I left frustrated and feeling like I was being duped. More research, I haven’t been able to find any real info on the 5104. Last week I was out of town for work and stopped buy their Home Depot to check on a rental for sale. There she was! A new Makita 6401 in an open box, somebody had ordered and returned it. It was brand new everything was wrapped and looked like it hadn’t been touched. The manager sold it to me open box for $475.

 

[mikefunaro]

Good deal on the 6400.

Should be a 5105 not 5104. Very little changes. Biggest thing was an air channel from the flywheel to allow for more effective cooling of the cylinder. Saying that the 510 is closer to the 5100 than the 5105 is ridiculous. Hopefully those guys are better techs than they are salesmen.

 

[olyeller]

Way to go!

Welcome! I'm glad you found this site and could pick up some solid info that helped you make a great purchase. Excellent saw at a very good price! Have you seen the posts by Chevytown13, who has modded his Makita 6401? That is one rippin' saw! And as you already know, you can always take it up to a 7900 later on with OEM parts. You made a good choice with this saw; now go cut some wood and show us some photos!

Olyeller

 

[Kemper]

Congrats, you will love the 6400, i just ordered the HD air filter kit for mine.
Very fast cutting saw right out of the box!

 

[JTAbq]

Welcome! I'm glad you found this site and could pick up some solid info that helped you make a great purchase. Excellent saw at a very good price! Have you seen the posts by Chevytown13, who has modded his Makita 6401? That is one rippin' saw! And as you already know, you can always take it up to a 7900 later on with OEM parts. You made a good choice with this saw; now go cut some wood and show us some photos!

I am glad I got the info as well thanks everyone, I have seen chevytown13 posts very impressed!

Oh-5105 that probably explains why I couldn't find out any info.

 

[CHEVYTOWN13]

7901 in your future...

Welcome! I'm glad you found this site and could pick up some solid info that helped you make a great purchase. Excellent saw at a very good price! Have you seen the posts by Chevytown13, who has modded his Makita 6401? That is one rippin' saw! And as you already know, you can always take it up to a 7900 later on with OEM parts. You made a good choice with this saw; now go cut some wood and show us some photos!

Olyeller

Dang Ken! I read this and ran out the door and tried to perform a somersault

I am glad I got the info as well thanks everyone, I have seen chevytown13 posts very impressed!

Oh-5105 that probably explains why I couldn't find out any info.

I walked back in and then JT made me pass out:greenchainsaw:

Out of the box, this saw has some big sacks.

Ken, it's a different machine than the GTG. When I took it to the GTG, it was not capable of pulling an 8 pin rim. I recently worked the upper transfers and now it twists an 8 pin with some authority

 

[JTAbq]

Part 2, MY Qustions. I put together the saw, I am impressed with the quality. It took about 4 or 5 pulls to fire up and idled right out of the box with no adjustments. I let it warm up a bit and then decided to make some adjustments. It seemed to be running rich as I expected living at 6000ft. Makita manual talks about using the rev limiter to set the high speed and a tach to set the low speed I didn’t feel comfortable running it against the rev limiter brand new so I made some easy cuts in some 12” pine I had around. It handled excellent, was considerably louder than my 290, vibration was worlds better. It didn’t pull into the wood like my 290 but I believe that is due to the chain it came with. I use the Still RSC chain on the 290 and the Makita’s stock chain seemed pretty wimpy in comparison. I tried to adjust the high speed, but I never could get it to sound like it was leaning out or hit the rev limiter, I ran out of adjustment on the carb. I backed it off about a 1/8 turn from full lean and left it there. My question is: Should I pull the limiter tabs and lean it out some more? This makes me nervous on a brand new saw; I certainly don’t want to wreck it. Or should I just leave it alone for a while and let it break in some more and see how it runs? Am I missing something and maybe have it set to lean now? Your help would be greatly appreciated. PS the majority of my cutting is at 7000ft.

 

[Adirondack]

Great saw. I took mine to the dealer and they set the H and then put the limiter tab back in the middle so I could do any fine tuning. I have not touched the H but frequently adjust the L and idol screw.
That might be good since it is still under warranty. I find the saw very quiet compared to the stihls I have run. I have the 7900 but they if anything it should be louder. The anti vib is the best part of the saw. I have tried many chains I like the LGX the best but I have not tried the Stihl RC. Many say it is better but for the money I will stick with the LGX. Good look with a great saw. I will admit my girls love to pick out the stickers that go on the site and that is part of the reason for my post. We will see what they pick out.

:kilt:

hone:
I can not believe my 7 year old picked give me a beer. I am in for a long teen age years.

 

[CHEVYTOWN13]

JT, be careful man. I wouldn't use the limiter to tune. Use your tach for both the L and H tuning. You're high enough, I doubt you'll ever hit the limiter unless it was modded. Fire it up and let it warm up. Make some cuts and then check your H. You should be able to tell if it's still 4 stroking in the cut too. If it is, and you're maxed out on the settings, then the tabs have to come off. I cut wood at 6000' and don't even bother with the tuning. I leave it rich. If I do set something, it is usually the idle only. I process at 1500', so it's tuned for this altitude. For my settings on the 6401, it's fat on the L and lean on the H. 2 turns, 1/2 turn. But if I was doing long sustained cuts, then the h will need more just to be safe.

Yes, the safety chain blows. But it will cut pretty OK with it if you can't swing for a chain soon. Switch for a chisel. I've been using woodlandpro, which is Carlton and I like it a lot.

Part 2, MY Qustions. I put together the saw, I am impressed with the quality. It took about 4 or 5 pulls to fire up and idled right out of the box with no adjustments. I let it warm up a bit and then decided to make some adjustments. It seemed to be running rich as I expected living at 6000ft. Makita manual talks about using the rev limiter to set the high speed and a tach to set the low speed I didn’t feel comfortable running it against the rev limiter brand new so I made some easy cuts in some 12” pine I had around. It handled excellent, was considerably louder than my 290, vibration was worlds better. It didn’t pull into the wood like my 290 but I believe that is due to the chain it came with. I use the Still RSC chain on the 290 and the Makita’s stock chain seemed pretty wimpy in comparison. I tried to adjust the high speed, but I never could get it to sound like it was leaning out or hit the rev limiter, I ran out of adjustment on the carb. I backed it off about a 1/8 turn from full lean and left it there. My question is: Should I pull the limiter tabs and lean it out some more? This makes me nervous on a brand new saw; I certainly don’t want to wreck it. Or should I just leave it alone for a while and let it break in some more and see how it runs? Am I missing something and maybe have it set to lean now? Your help would be greatly appreciated. PS the majority of my cutting is at 7000ft.