In forestry, arboriculture, landscaping and farming, having reliable and efficient machinery makes the task at hand much simpler. And professionals can now benefit from up to 20% faster-cutting performance and a lighter weight with the new chainsaw bar and chain combinations on the STIHL MS 261 C-M and MS 271 chainsaws.
The new Light 04 guide bar, which has four rivets in the bar nose, has been designed to fit both machines and is a taste of what’s to come for new chainsaw bar designs from STIHL.
This new chainsaw guide bar provides improved balance and less fatigue as the lighter weight improves manoeuvrability, plus the slimmer contour and bar nose helps plunge cutting capability too, particularly useful in forestry applications. The new bar comes in 14, 16, 18, 20-inch bar lengths, covering all uses of these saws. It also has an eye-catching new design too.
Designed to partner these new Light 04 chainsaw bars, the new 0.325” Rapid saw chains also help to deliver the faster cutting performance too. Moving from 1.6mm gauge to 1.3mm, whilst the kerf (cutter tooth width) comes down from 7.7mm to 6.8mm, means less timber is removed in the cut.
This improves cutting performance by up to 20% compared to the previous version of the 0.325 RS chains. The MS 261 C-M now comes with the RS Pro saw chain which is designed for high-performance cross cutting and bore cutting, as well as low vibration. The MS 271 comes with the RM Pro 3 saw chain, which is a high performance and robust saw chain, more suited to agricultural application.
Whilst these new bar and chains come standard on the MS 261 C-M and MS 271, they can also be retrofitted to older models of these chainsaws, as well as other models with 2.2 to 3.0kW output – such as the MS 241 C-M, MS 251 and MS 251 C-BE and the MS 291.
For more information, please speak to your local STIHL Approved Dealer.
Paul HicksPaul has worked for STIHL for six years and is responsible for the range of STIHL products that is sold here in Great Britain, which means he definitely knows his stuff when it comes to all things STIHL.
I would like to see stihl make 3/4 wrap handle for the ms261 c-m. This is a great saw with the an impressive power to weight ratio. I’ve been using Stihl saws felling timber in the Pacific northwest since the early eighties, a wrap handle option for this capable saw would be well received.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll pass that on to our Product Team now. Thanks, STIHL GB
Can you obtain the 20% gain if you switch only the chain suggested and not the bar?
Hi, thanks for your comment. The RS Pro chain is 1.3mm gauge and requires a 1.3mm gauge guide bar like the Light 04 so it’s more a question of what bar is compatible with the new chain. The standard guide bars previously supplied with the MS 271/261 are not compatible, as these are 1.6mm gauge. I hope that helps, thanks, STIHL GB
Yes please design and produce a 3/4 wrap handle for the 261! And a two part muffler! To me these two things prevent this saw from being a true “pro saw”. I would love to be able to use this saw more but without the 3/4 wrap I tend to go with the husky similar size that has the full wrap.
Hi, thanks for your comment. Here in Great Britain, there’s relatively small demand for a full wrap handle but if you are based in another country, its worth getting in touch with your local STIHL Subsidiary to give them feedback. Thanks, STIHL GB
It would be good to also see the same guage applied to larger bars in the UK. Relatively easier to get >20″ bars .050 in US, why so difficult in UK?
Thanks for your message. We have a narrower gauge available with STIHL HEXA for MS 362 C-M to MS 661 C-M. This gives those chainsaws a 10% improvement in cutting performance as well as being longer lasting and easier to sharpen due to the hexagonal shaped file. Thanks, STIHL GB