Stihl MS 065 Magnum

[irv104]

Need some information on the 065, What kind saw is it and where does it fit ???

[Bill]

FWIW my 1998 Stihl catalogue shows an 066M - 91.6cc and 7.0bhp - but no 065. The new catalogue shows there is a MS 650 at 84.9cc and 6.4bhp.

[Rocky_J]

The 650 is a detuned 660 with a smaller bore. All the weight of the 660 for less money and with less power.

[DonE911]

How much less money?  I've not looked at  new saws... but I might add the 650 to my "used gems" list if a 660 top end would fit the case. 

I can't help but think "why" ?   What maket are you aiming for there?  I assume that not to many homeowners are grabbing the 660 to begin with....  do they reach for it if it cost a hundred or so less? If yes will they dump straight gas in it and make it available to me on the cheap? ;D ;D

[Rocky_J]

My guess is that it's to help out with the EPA 'averaging' for the entire Stihl lineup. They have to have enough 'clean' saws to still be able to sell their good saws and meet the EPA emissions averages.
???

[Al_Smith]

 Now that brings up another subject,EPA standards.Just how much polution could be generated by saws,and other small engines in comparison to automobiles etc.
  It's my opinion they have really split hairs on this small engine issue.

[SawTroll]

Need some information on the 065, What kind saw is it and where does it fit ???

There never was an 065 - Magnum or not.

However there was an 064, which was an older design than the 066, and it had the same bore and stroke as the MS650 now has.
The 064 is still sold as the MS640 in parts of the world - in fact it is still sold both as the 064 and the MS640.....

As Rocky said, the 650 is based on the 660, not on the old 064/640 design.

[Kevin]

They make a 65 but it's a blower.

[Frickman]

I have two theories on why they brought out the MS650. First, the already mentioned pollution/EPA deal. Could be something there, I'm not sure. Second, price point. Stihl is like a lot of other big companies that have professional managers running their companies. The business schools and textbooks tell you that if you want to compete with the guy down the road, you have to have a similar product, at a similar price, for everything he sells. I think that they looked at Husky/Jonsered's lineup and figured they had to match up with one of their saws, or just have a saw priced halway between the 460 and 660. I can see this in the consumer/homeowner saws, where John Q. firewood cutter has x number of dollars to spend and that's it. But a saw the size of a 650 is basically a professional user's saw and a hundred bucks shouldn't make a difference.

Stihl has ninety percent of the worldwide market for professional logger saws, so I can't see why they need to introduce another model to confuse everything.

[SawTroll]

.... I think that they looked at Husky/Jonsered's lineup and figured they had to match up with one of their saws, or just have a saw priced halway between the 460 and 660. .....

I think you may be right, the MS 650 is an allmost perfect match for the Husky 385xp regarding power and weight.

In another perspective, the prices I have seen on the 650 so far, imo are too close to the 660 to make it a real option though. :(

[StihlDoc]

The MS 650 falls into a different EPA tier category for engine displacement vs. the MS 660 and therefore different emission levels apply to the MS 650.

[Rocky_J]

The MS 650 falls into a different EPA tier category for engine displacement vs. the MS 660 and therefore different emission levels apply to the MS 650.

Toldja it was all about emissions... Who cares what works best, just push saws that pass the EPA regs.  :-\



I will never own another stock saw again.  8)

[StihlDoc]

That is the world the manufacturers have to live in and deal with. Everything they make has to meet the EPA reg's or they go out of business. There is no way around it if you want to manufacture engines in today's market. Stricter levels are also on the horizon which are going to require different technology in the engines. Chain saw engines are not going to be simple 2-strokes any longer. They will be 2-strokes, but they won't be simple. It will be a completely new ball game in the next two years for those that want to mod saw engines.