Total NOOB to this site but thought I would throw my .02 in. I have run both 441 with m tronic and without. also the 460. I am getting rid of my 441 mtronic as we speak and upgrading to a 461. I bought the saw for the technology and based on what others had said about it.
As far as vibes go, the 441 is sweet and I will hate to see that go but there is just too many items on the negative list for me to keep it. First, mine is cold blooded, the other day it took 13 pulls to get it to an idle. Keep in mind this saw is new as of December. couple things I have found that I dont like with the mtronic. It surges quite a bit, not that that really matters that much as wot performance but that is just where it starts. Keep in mind this is all personal experience on my part. The part the really bothers me is when in a cut, if the saw bogs, and it will if you are cutting enough wood, it seems like the system memorizes that "run" if you will. I can pull the saw out of the tree and hammer the throttle and it will take a second for the saw to come out of that setting and get up to full power. I dont like this for felling trees, especially if you have to cut the last part of the holding wood as the tree is going over and your saw bogs, you cant just give it the onion to get through the cut. You are stuck. Very dangerous. Had one barber chair on me the other day because of this. second gripe is that fuel economy is big wood sucks. My carbed version sipped it much better in my opinion.
I run a 28" bar on my saw and it runs OK with a skip chain on the bigger stuff above 24 inches, does not have the power to pull a full comp, you really have to feather it. I do work between 6000 and 7000ft so I know i am operating on less power, that might have something to do wth it. To me, it is just underpowered for felling anything over 24". If all you are going to do is cut smaller trees for firewood and do lots of bucking. I can see it would be a good saw for that.
I am not here to bash the saw, I have used it and it has been reliable except for the above for the last 5 months.
I personally am going back to a carbed saw for predictability and instant throttle response. Also excited to try my new 461 which is on order. I am into bigger wood now and cannot afford to have a saw that can get the job done rather than a saw that will get the job done and safely. 461 has more power than 441 and is a reliable carb based system in my book. both saws weigh the same so my nod goes to 6hp and broader power curve rather that 5.6.
the only down side to the 460/461 is the av system. Not springs like the 441s.
The biggest thing I can say is pick your saw according the the wood you are cutting, not what the others say is cool.
