Your opinion please

[Tucker943]

A family member in the business offered me a trade. I have a few big saws in the fleet, and I suppose I could stand to part with one. He offered me a clean, but used 200t, and a clean, but used 460 in trade for a clean 066 of mine. I'm somewhat tempted to take the trade. Would you? For the sake of arguement, let's assume all saws have plenty of compression and are in solid working order with no major flaws.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

If I had a spare 066, that would make for a decent trade. Spare meaning more than 2.

 

[Tucker943]

I don't have a spare. I just got rid of a 660 not so long ago. I was never in love with it from day one. My 066 spanked it. Truth be told, I use a 288xp lite for a great deal of my bigger wood. I am madly in love with that saw and always will be. Not extremely fast, but LOADS of torque.

 

[Tucker943]

My 066 will beat my 288 any day, but when you love a saw, you love a saw.

 

[Old Monkey]

How much big wood do you cut? How often do you need the 066? My back doesn't care for cutting with anything bigger than a 460 so I would make the trade.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

And Monkey asked my next question. I cut a lot of large rounds. 066 is a valuable tool in my fleet and comes to work pretty often. That is a huge deciding factor. How much do you really use it. My 046 is not shy of large wood either.

 

[SkwerI]

I use up about one 200T per year, a good 95cc saw will last a decade or two.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I read that as Brian makes a hella lot more money with a 200T than he does a 066.

 

[Tucker943]

I have limited experience with the 460. My dad has one and I've used one or 2 and seem to remember being let down by them. But, its been awhile and my tastes in tools have changed. I wonder if I'd still be let down by the 460? I wonder if my opinion was even justified? It's been so long.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Would he let you play with it a bit to see if you like the saw?

 

[bonner1040]

I LOVE the 460... Having used both the 660 and 460 @ PTS when the time came I chose a 460.

At my local dealer: http://www.stihldealer.net/category...aa-toplvl-2-catid-2-subcat-2-catprods-41.aspx
A 201T runs $600, I believe they still have 200t's but I paid $550 for mine last year. A 460 runs $950-1050 and a 660 runs $1100-1150.

Based on dollars and cents I would take that trade in a minute, especially considering the unavailability of 200t's.

As far as the 460 vs 660 I find that the 460 can be used as a more general purpose saw that rips through smaller stuff and handles big wood with relative ease. I havent done it yet but I have been meaning to, but as fas as I have read; if you muffler mod a 460 it will get pretty close to the 660 in terms of power but with a lower weight.

MS 460
STIHL MAGNUM®
76.5 cc (4.7 cu. in.)
(6.0 bhp)
(14.6 lbs.)

MS 660
STIHL MAGNUM®
91.6 cc (5.6 cu. in.)
(7.0 bhp)
(16.5 lbs.)

 

[Tucker943]

Yes, he would. Maybe I ought to just hang on to that 066. It comes out in waves. Sometimes not for a month, and sometimes daily for a month. My work varies.

 

[sotc]

I'm with Bonner, except only if i had a 660 in reserve. My favorite saw is 460, I have 3 of them and zero trouble. Definitely need a dual port muff cover at the least

 

[Al Smith]

I doubt any of them with three numbers like 460 verses 046 that will preform in factory trim as good as the predecessors .They probabley are capable of it if you do some muffler work and let them breathe .

I know Toms' 660 which is residing at the moment in my garage is a poor cousin to the one he had stolen (066) .I can pretty much keep up with this one with my souped 038 Mag and I couldn't the other one . He'll get fed up with it one of these days and give me the go ahead to work it over some .

 

[Burnham]

Take this for what it's worth, just an opinion. I carry a 200, a 200T, a 036, a 460, and a 066 on my truck. The 460 sees about 4:1 use ration with the 066. But if I had only one 066, I wouldn't trade it off, when you need it, you absolutely need it...if I had two, then I would. 460 is a great saw, I'm with Willie all the way there.

That little 200 sees about as many hours as the 460...cleaning up little crap out of roadways, it's the cat's meow.

 

[bonner1040]

But if I had only one 066, I wouldn't trade it off, when you need it, you absolutely need it...if I had two, then I would.

Well that seems like sound advice.

 

[treesmith]

Burnham, just out of curiosity, how much difference is there in that 200 and a 200T? Could it be converted with a few parts? In comparing the 200 to the 201T, they appear very similar. The Stihl website no longer has a spec page for the 200T, so it's hard to be precise in the comparison. I just wondered if someone could pick up a 200 and use some parts off an expired/retired 200T and convert it.

 

[Burnham]

There are a lot of parts that would have to be switched out, way more than you might suspect from a cursory look....I bet the parts would cost as much as a new saw.

 

[bonner1040]

A guy I work with uses a 200 in the tree, not a T, the rear handled one... It is nice but its old and doesnt run well, but when it does its a good saw.

I have been thinking about a 261 as a smaller ground saw.

 

[Tucker943]

I used to have 2 394's in the mix. Boy do I miss them, they were monsters. I think I'm going to grab a 395 this year when my dealer has a sale. I really shouldn't be taking in any more stihls, for reasons of lacking dealer support. I'll just keep that 066 around. When it comes out, great, otherwise its not causing me any trouble.

 

[brendonv]

Three 460's here, throw in a 361, three 200Ts, a 201T, and a newer to me 660.

Boy that 660 sure came in handy this year, quiet a few times. I'd let it go if I had to, I guess.

I don't cut many big trees, but I don't think I'd trade it for a lesser of a saw either.

 

[Tucker943]

I carried a 660 all day every day for about a year in the woods. I swore I'd never touch one again.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I'm thinking that if you don't use the larger saw so much, what about trading it and having the 460 modded? I don't own a 660, there is a gap in my arsenal where from an 046 magum I have to jump up to an old but dearly beloved 076. So, not expertise about the 660. Perhaps a hot running 460 would cover the needs for the 660 when call for it, and make it more pleasurable to use for the smaller wood too. No?

 

[Tucker943]

My 288 is my saw of choice typically when I need a little more steam then my 372's/441. I run that with a 32" bar in hardwood with no trouble at all.

 

[arborworks1]

Brian, first off I know you are cutting a lot. But really using a 200 in a year? I have been pretty hard on one now for 2.5 years and it still runs like a top.

And yes that trade makes great sense. As long as the saws run good and aren't beat.