That is a bad description.Interesting recall. Would be good if they gave more detail on the exact problem.
A pity you are not keen on that killer deal on a near new modded 261 v2 for what works out best on your cost per hp metric, and considerably cheaper than many of the saws you are looking at buying. But buyer perception is everything and if you are not confident in the 261 v2 or feel it won't be fast enough, fair enough.
Which brings me to a question for those with 261 v2's - do you have confidence in that saw and think it fast enough? Also, are any of you using 3/8 pitch 20" bars? That's about my limit on mine. Tried 24" but was a bit too much when fully buried in hard stuff. Fine for felling/bucking soft wood like cypress/pine but if its gum it better be green or I have to baby it a bit.
I ran mine with an 18x325 and it felt just like the 550 in the cut.
I would suppose you could run a 20x3/8 on it, but I like a 60cc or a ported 50cc for a 20x3/8, and many times run a 70cc with a 20.
All that being said a 455 rancher runs a 20x3/8 and gets the job done just fine, and I've cut a lot of wood with them as well as an ms290 set up the same, they are darn close in power to the 261 VII so I guess you could but do you want to if you don't have to .
Yes, It sounds like they are talking about the brake handle/flag(although it's not really a flag on that saw).that recall description is awful isn't it!? what on earth are they trying to describe! something to do with the chainbrake mechanism is my guess but...!!
Ive never seen a bad one, but obviously there was some problem for the to have issued the recall, much like the fuel lines on the 461 which I didn't have a problem with either.