MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Heh heh. Here we go - hopefully not another 425 page, 16,102 post thread on the 261 but...
Look what arrived in my grubby little mitts this afternoon...
I'll try to give you guys an honest review from somebody who really doesn't give a toss about what badge is stuck on a saw. This may be frowned upon by some viewers
The only other 50cc saw I have is my 5100-S. To be honest the only reason I ordered a 261 was because of the new style filter which looks excellent (and Andy said it was good so it's his fault - thanks Andy...)
As most of you would know many standard unoiled filters struggle with our hardwood dust and the Dolmar 5100-S is no exception - it has to be oiled which means it blocks up a LOT faster, particularly with very little filter surface area to begin with. If the little Dolmar did not have dust ingression and filter issues there is no way in hell I'd have contemplated a 261 as it's replacement as filtration is my only complaint about the 5100-S.
This saw came with a 16" Stihl ES bar and I ordered it in 3/8" .050" - some guys may prefer .325" but I find it wears too quickly in dirtier hardwood like ours and I have good stocks of it from full chisel through to chipper. I also fitted the OEM Stihl MS341/361 dual spike kit which fitted well apart from the bolts being slightly too short for the clutch cover resulting in a couple of stripped nuts.
As far as physical size compared to the 5100-S it is certainly larger but not by much - definately longer in the main saw body but other than that they both feel nearly identical.
First up I fueled it up and about 8 pulls later it fired. 2 pulls after the choke was off away it went, running and idling like clock. About 10 seconds later I had it buried in a good lump of hardwood (same as in the pictures) and it pulled the supplied Stihl RSC well and this is very hard wood.
I know it's early and it hasn't been run it yet but the throttle response seems quite sluggish compared to the 5100-S although it does seem to have good torque. In a neck and neck race (at this stage) my 5100-S would tan it's butt however I'm well aware that some of these newer Stihls can take up to 20 tanks to reach their full potential. It also seems to "run down" quite slowly from full throttle like it's got a heavy flywheel or something!
You get a slight idea of size differences between the two saw below - nothing in it but noticable to the naked eye, not in the hands.
Anyway, I have a few videos uploading as we speak but they're taking their time in HD
Look what arrived in my grubby little mitts this afternoon...
I'll try to give you guys an honest review from somebody who really doesn't give a toss about what badge is stuck on a saw. This may be frowned upon by some viewers
The only other 50cc saw I have is my 5100-S. To be honest the only reason I ordered a 261 was because of the new style filter which looks excellent (and Andy said it was good so it's his fault - thanks Andy...)As most of you would know many standard unoiled filters struggle with our hardwood dust and the Dolmar 5100-S is no exception - it has to be oiled which means it blocks up a LOT faster, particularly with very little filter surface area to begin with. If the little Dolmar did not have dust ingression and filter issues there is no way in hell I'd have contemplated a 261 as it's replacement as filtration is my only complaint about the 5100-S.
This saw came with a 16" Stihl ES bar and I ordered it in 3/8" .050" - some guys may prefer .325" but I find it wears too quickly in dirtier hardwood like ours and I have good stocks of it from full chisel through to chipper. I also fitted the OEM Stihl MS341/361 dual spike kit which fitted well apart from the bolts being slightly too short for the clutch cover resulting in a couple of stripped nuts.
As far as physical size compared to the 5100-S it is certainly larger but not by much - definately longer in the main saw body but other than that they both feel nearly identical.
First up I fueled it up and about 8 pulls later it fired. 2 pulls after the choke was off away it went, running and idling like clock. About 10 seconds later I had it buried in a good lump of hardwood (same as in the pictures) and it pulled the supplied Stihl RSC well and this is very hard wood.
I know it's early and it hasn't been run it yet but the throttle response seems quite sluggish compared to the 5100-S although it does seem to have good torque. In a neck and neck race (at this stage) my 5100-S would tan it's butt however I'm well aware that some of these newer Stihls can take up to 20 tanks to reach their full potential. It also seems to "run down" quite slowly from full throttle like it's got a heavy flywheel or something!
You get a slight idea of size differences between the two saw below - nothing in it but noticable to the naked eye, not in the hands.
Anyway, I have a few videos uploading as we speak but they're taking their time in HD
