MS290 "Farm Boss" or MS 261

Ive owned my MS290 Farm Boss since 2010 and it has given me great service without any problems. Its the third Stihl ive owned since 1985 (O28-1985, O26-1992, MS290-2010 all bought new). Recently the needle bearing went on the 290 and brought the powerhead to my local dealer...$10 fix and i was back to making firewood. While there the guy shows me an MS261 which i instantly fell in love with. Professional saw, lighter, less maintenance etc.
I cut 10-15 cord per year and am considering selling the 290 and getting the 261 to replace it.
My question: is it as good for a firewood saw? When i cut its only for 2-3 hours and not all day. Im 50 and would like to have a saw that will last the rest of my cutting days. Im tempted to buy used, but havent had great luck with my other two saws (Stihl MS460, Husqvarna 344T) both bought used.
Thought/opinions from FHC folks?

 

261 will cut similar to your 290. 50ish cc compared to 56 I believe. But it's 2 or 3 lbs lighter too. I think they're a great saw. Available with the traditional carb or mtronic. Same price

 

Pros/cons on the mtronic?

 

Been a real reliable set up so far. Bought my son one for his birthday & he loves it. 261 all the way over the 290. Less weight, easier handling saw. I've got a ported 026 by huskihl that'll eat a 290's lunch, but that's a whole other conversation.

 

All good now. Actually, I don't think that model ever had mtronic issues.

 

Never heard of any either.

 

Ive thought of doing a muffler mod on the 290. Is this the same as ported? How would that stack up against a stock 261? There was a good looking used MS260 at a local pawn shop which ive considered.

 

Muffler mod just opens up exhaust flow & does help, but nothing like a good port job. Porting involves opening up & smoothing out the inlet & exhaust sides of the jug. Very noticeable increase in power & speed. Varies with different saws, but my 036 that huskihl did, will cut with a 10cc larger saw easily. The Mastermind ported 044 I have cuts well above it's weight class as well. I will warn you, once you run a good ported saw, nothing else quite measures up. Whole different animal. It's a very deep/bottomless rabbit hole.

 

I have both and vote for the 261. It wasn’t a close vote.

 

You coming up north again this year?

 

Buy it, have it ported, & never look back.

 

How much they want for the 260? If it’s in really good shape $300 would be reasonable. Any more than that I’d go with a new 261 c and get the auto tune and warranty.

 

I think they were asking 350 but would take 280, I could probably haggle him to less. Like i said in my first post, used scares me and would rather spend the extra to have piece of mind buying new. Fixing/modifying chain saws is not my thing.,,,other than basic maintain.
What is auto tune?

 

I have both a 026 and 261 ported by huskihl. Like stated above get the 261 get it ported, for the rest of your firewood cutting days.

 

Go with the new 261 mtronic. Not saying they aren't fun but with the amount of cutting you do I don't think you would need a ported one. Keep the 290 just because .

 

Electronically controlled fuel/air mixture. No carb tuning for temp & weather conditions.

 

Are you the member who does the porting on Stihls?

 

I don't know about "the" member, but I've done quite a few

 

Have you done them for FHC members saws? Did you do one for "ROPE"?