Stihl 661

[Randy88]

I bought my MS660 new about 15 ish years ago, also a new 361 at the same time, we used the 361 so much and put so many hours on it, there was no paint left on it, wore out about three hard nosed bars, not to mention a half dozen roller nose bars so we traded it off once the jug and piston was shot for a new 362 that got stolen.       

We had a 460 we had issues with and traded it off for a new 461 and now thinking about trading off my old 660 for a new saw as well, its getting up in age, a lot of use and with basically all the rest being new or will be new, was thinking its time to trade for a new big saw as well.   

Anyone have experience with the new 661 I think it is, the replacement for the 660?     Good, bad or whatever I'd like to hear about it before trading.     My saw operators and myself are thinking, we have a lot of sawing to do the next month or so and maybe its time to replace the 660 as well, that way all three saws will be new and under warranty, not that its a big thing, but with all the other issues we've been battling, a saw isn't something I want to deal with, my old bar is about worn out, sure it needs a good tune up again and by the time I'm done and pay the labor and parts, for a little more I can trade for a new saw with zero hours on it and probably be my last new big saw to buy, and can wear it out before I'm tired of running saws.    Somewhat stupid way of thinking about it, but anyhow its what I'm thinking.   

[azmtnman]

I got a new MS661C. It is a beast! Mine has a 36" bar. We cut dead trees and I like it for felling because we can get in and get the job done without waiting on the saw. It seldom bogs down.
  I love the computer control (I think it's like EFI.) I work at elevations between 6000 and 10000 ft and it starts and runs great at all those altitudes.

[Randy88]

I can still get a new 660 saw if I want one, or the replacement is a 661 with the new carburetor on it.     

Some of the people are telling me the new 661 starts harder than the old 660 version does, the other half tell me they start and idle nicer but need longer to warm up than the 660 does.   Anyone have any idea's or thoughts on this.   

My 362 before it was stolen, started great and the only hang up we found was it needed to idle a while before you could give it much throttle, but once warmed up, it started great every time there after.   I'm told the new 661 would be about identical to the carbs on the 362's, is this about right, anyone know??

I'm basically down to trade for a new 660 while I can still get one, or trade for the newer version 661, not yet sure which way to go.   

[PineHill4488]

Bought a 660,, three years ago, I have cut some firewood and felled a few trees but mostly it is bolted to a Granberg. There is has performed flawlessly, starts easy runs FOT as long as I care to hold on, not a minute of trouble should probably give it a tune for this season, my $0.02 for what it is worth.

[killamplanes]

I cut with 2 661 every day. I have already killed 1. White oak to the head it was 2 weeks old. So I got a parts saw.  Anyway I had 660 prior and 460. The 2 661 I run now are exactly the same. Cold blooded, and kinda slow to warm up, They don't die they just don't give good power for first minute or so. Of course the plastics are different than the older ones. But other than cold blooded, good power to weight, seem to not like bogged down as much as 660. But I cant compare cause only 660 I got has probly 500k+ bdft thru it. Anyway good saw, here there 1100 with 25in bar and chain out the door. Though a fellow logger friend said he blew one up couple weeks ago. I don't know the details, but he can tear up an anvil with a fly swater :D :D

[killamplanes]

I'm a production logger so I try to stay up on newer model saws. For parts availibilty reasons. And I am not a tinkerer, if theres anything more than a spark plug ,bar chain, sprocket, air filter etc. wrong I hand it over to a local shop. The guy in the shop worked as a factory trainer for there retail stores. He is beyond good about stihl saws. And he knows what after market stuff to put on and what not to. I have to stay on him about these saws are production saws. He tends to want to turn them into hotsaws. But he isn't payin the bill :D :D :D

[Randy88]

Killamplanes, thanks for the reply, its what I was wanting to know.     

I will probably trade for a new 661 in the near future, not sure how many hours of use my old 660 has on it.     

I'm not at all interested in hot saws either, I want my saws as stock as possible, a person can put a lot of money in a saw with updates and aftermarket parts to try to get extreme power and efficiency out of saw.   I only care it starts and runs and does its job with as little repairs as possible and as long of life as I can get out of them, then trade them off with a good value left in them in order to lower my overall costs of the next new saw and fairly cheap per hour of overall use.   

[killamplanes]

I never sell a saw. I would be embarrassed to sell mine to a person when I'm done with them. I keep them for parts donors. The way I look at it, ounce the motor mounts are shot the hole thing is to. Just me. I see a saw as a pile of money I use to chase a bigger pile of money.. ;D

[Randy88]

We've been running them for about a decade or so, then trade them in on a new saw, get about half the money back or trade for half the price of a new saw, everything is new and under warranty for a year or so and go again for another decade.   

If all I have to do is put wear items into the saw along with maintenance costs which are routine, I feel this is the best way to go, nothing is too old to get parts for, my dad had this issue with some of his saws over the years, he kept them too long and some brands went out of business and parts were discontinued, so he'd have to go buy a whole new saw and do it again, this happened to him three times over the years.   

As to the brand, the dealer determines the brand I buy, if my dealer is great to work with, that's the brand we buy, gone through three dealers over the years, hence three different brands of saws, right now its stihl saws we own.   

[Ada Shaker]

I used to run win 98 and I loved it. Best operating system widows ever had and very stable. Then my files became too big and the os couldn't recognise them. So I upgraded to ntfs win xp, which recognised files over 4gig. Got used to xp, was ok, ran fairly stable, sp2 was a killer for firewire which was tisturbing but out of my control. Then support for xp stopped and many programs required win 7 to run so I upgraded to win7. Was ok I suppose but wondered when it would ever end. Updating every few years was an expensive proposition. Win10 came out so I thought I'd better update to win10, it'd only be a matter of time anyway.
Now I wish microsoft would update win98, I h8 win10 with a passion, who's dumb ass idea was it anyway?.
Technology can be frustrating,  just remember that when buying a computerized chainsaw.

[Randy88]

OK, I think I get the jest of that, now explain a computerized saw, since I don't actually fix or work on them myself, I have no idea what is inside them per say.    I was only told that a 661 had a different carburetor on it compared to the old version 660, where does computerized come into the equation??

As they say educate me.   

[Ada Shaker]

OK, I think I get the jest of that, now explain a computerized saw, since I don't actually fix or work on them myself, I have no idea what is inside them per say.    I was only told that a 661 had a different carburetor on it compared to the old version 660, where does computerized come into the equation??

As they say educate me.

That'll come out next week. There's already suggestions out there that they should come out with a built in tacho. The carb isn't the only thing that is different on these saws, the level of electronics, likely to be microprocessor controlled, is also more extensive than in the 660. Doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing, but something to bear in mind. The more complex and extensive something is, the more chances of something going wrong, whether it be a chainsaw or the family car. They do have an electronic module built in that controls the carb amongst other things, that in this stone'n'age, is likely to be micro-processor controlled. Stihl and other companies are reluctant to release any information on the workings, likely due to intellectual property rights, it's all very hush, hush. If you don't work on them and hand ball any repairs to the dealer, you don't have much to worry about other than availability of parts/support in the future.