MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
My stock 201 runs like a raped ape.
Yeah videos prove nothing. A 6 year old MS200 against a 2 day old T540XP.Well said Magnus. The video proves absolutely nothing: much as I now hate Stihl for releasing that dirty pig of a 201, I'll have to confess that the chains were clearly sharpened much differently.
My 540 will be back in the line up running against a fresh 200 and a fresh 201(the 201 may stay fresh forever as it's unlikely to get used). All with the same razor sharp chains. No vids but I'll post up on my personal findings.
The 200T's the champ no doubt, but even it had some problems.
For me number one annoyance was accidentally turning my saw off in the cut by bumping that dang kill switch!
Number two was all 4 I bought only went bout 6 months before the mufflers started rattling loose and eventually fracturing into pieces parts. Now I realize it's my wimpiness bout sticking with the smallest lightest saw I can that tears my 200's apart muffler wise, cuz I won't put it down till the woods over 27 inch dia, but hey I'm a dinky dude!
So why do the mufflers, atleast mine rattle? My Stihl tech tells me my mistake is starting and stopping the saw too much between cuts instead of letting it idle between cuts as Stihl recs. something about the variations in the expansion and contraction rates of two different kinds of steel, presumably aluminum/magnesium/stainless steel.
Regardless, I don't dig idling saws hangin off me in the tree, I want to use every drop of gas in my saw cuttin not idlin. And why the heck don't any of my other saws mufflers rattle off?
Stihl has since remedied my problem anyway by coming out with their inverted cone lock washers, which have not rattled loose yet even once. Touché Stihl.
And third on my biotch list of course are those dang stupid floppy gas n oil caps! Nothin more annoying than bar oil in your lap!
Hey Stihl, howzabout some simple smooth surfaced oil n gas caps that can be wiped clean with the swipe of a rag before fueling? Yu know, keep all that crud outta the insides of your saw?
Jomo
When I sent Eddie from Stihl a 200T carb for testing he sent me back one of those with the accelerator pump .I have it on a souped up 200T and that thing has never ran so well .Then again I don't run my two 200T's to the extent many professionals on this forum do .Don't forget the small crappy pump in the carb, which sends air in the gas when it becomes worn.