Where’s the Stihl 400?

No, they can sell it any way they want. They have to order it with a certain combo of bar and chain. But, if you want something different, they can swap it out without issue. They will just sell the bar or chain that they pulled to someone else when need be.

 

Good to know, I know the dealer in town won’t budge on anything. Come to think Of it, I’ve never even seen a light bar in the store. Add that to another reason I don’t like to shop there,

 

For example, my 261 came with a 20" .325 bar/chain/scabbard. I wanted to do my own thing so they kept the cutting equipment and credited me for it. I probably got dealer cost credit and not retail credit but it allowed me to tweak my purchase the way I wanted. I'm guessing some dealers probably don't want to bother because the take off parts will not be packaged for retail sale and are tougher to sell and/or inventory.

 

I bought the sugihara bar at my Stihl dealer… That counts right

 

After putting a Tsumura bar on my new 261 on an impulse, I did a lot of research after the fact. What I found surprised me on a couple fronts. Despite it's cutouts filled with epoxy resin, it's still a hair heavier (a couple oz) than the Stihl Light bar. However, over on another forum, a member there did some extensive testing on bars a while back including weight, cut speed and temps. Compared were various Stihl, Cannon, Sugi, and Tsumura bars. While the Tsumura wasn't the absolute lightest (it was close though), it cut faster and stayed significantly cooler while doing so over the standard Stihl ES and Stihl Light bars. Anyways, I'm summarizing a lot from that thread into a couple lines here but bottom line is I'm happy with my impulse buy... Would I have been just as happy with a Stihl Light bar? Sure, I'd likely never be able to tell any difference... That said, I am thinking about swapping the 20" ES bar on my 500 to either a Stihl Light or Tsumura Light. Stihl is $100 and in stock at my dealer. Tsumura is currently out of stock at the big online importer/retailer but is a bit cheaper when it comes available again at $73.

 

So between storms I had a chance to try out the 400 this afternoon. Perhaps not the best test of its abilities, but at least I was able to try it out. I bucked the two trees I scrounged earlier this week (silver maple and white birch) and have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed using the 400 (no surprise there). The throttle response was excellent, there was no hesitation on power, and it made short work of the green wood. I agree with Barcroftb that the 400 feels smoother than the 362. I did notice the obvious greater fuel consumption than the 362, but nowhere near as bad as the 50o. It definitely kicks out some chips...just bucking the two trees produced a wheelbarrow full of wood chips. I didn't purchase this to use as a bucking saw in the wood yard so the real test for me will be once I get it out in the woods on a scrounge. In the meantime, I'll see if I can scrounge up a light guide bar.

 

I am happy with the 24” Sugi on my 500.

 

Hard to believe you don’t have snow in that pic. I don’t remember how many snow machine rides I have been on this year.

 

Yeah, Mother Nature is a bit behind this year (which is actually okay with me since I am behind on things I need to get done outside). Supposedly, we might have our first snow tonight (2-5 inches the last time I saw the weather). I'll believe it when I see it. Regardless, we're supposed to be up close to 60 by next Thursday. I actually heard someone say they were going swimming a few days ago!

 

I have two sleds snow checked so I'm sure hoping for a snowy winter....

 

Whatcha getting?

 

Doo Renegade Enduro 900R turbo for both the wife and I...

 

I was on the list at my local Stihl dealer to buy a 500. Not to kick the tires to buy it. He calls me Monday morning it’s here and it has a 32 inch bar. I told him I want a 24 inch bar. He said no. Take it with the 32 or leave it.

I thought about his demand for 24 hours then called him back to argue and he said sorry it’s gone. To the next guy on the list.

I might need to find a new dealer this pizzes me off he wouldn’t go down to a 24.

vent over

 

He didn’t want to sit on selling a 32” bar being in the Midwest. That was probably the only way he could buy it for whatever reason

 

I think you are right on
and I am sure the next guy on the list wanted the 32,,,

 

That is too bad. #1, he could have swapped the bar and sold the 32" to the next customer that wanted one. It's a sellers market though and with demand higher than supply, dealers don't need to be accommodating.

 

I would change dealers ole while I understand dealers logic, in today’s world of internet shopping, a brick and mortar store of premium goods needs to go above and beyond

 

Unfortunately (for the consumer because it stifles competition), Stihl doesn't allow internet or phone orders to their dealers. I'm sure some do it but if they get caught, they could get in trouble with the Stihl saw police... According to my dealer, Stihl is much more uptight about enforcing this compared to Husky who has more of a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude.

https://www.stihlusa.com/information/corporate/legal/internet-sales-policy/

I'm betting it's all about liability.

 

look up OPE forum many members on both sites you can get a 500..

 

I had not trouble with my dealer getting me one. He got three in the shipment mine came in. I was tempted to buy a second to resell but passed. I probably should have based on what I'm seeing on eBay. They are going for over 2k now and many from out of the country. When you buy from other countries like that, there is no warranty either...