I'd prob fork up the the +$120 just for the captive bar nuts. But it does look like you could buy the clips and convert a 4910 easily. I'm also agnostic on the handle materials. If anybody had the ability to map the ignition timing, it would be cool to know if there are any differences along with measuring the output from the oil pump. The better bar and chain is worth a couple bucks too. While I agree that the 4910 is 90% of a 501P, by the time you get a couple of those little upgrades, you are most of the way to the 501. However, if you bought the 4910 and used the $120 to buy an extra bar & chain, and the captive bar nut clips, I couldn't fault you for that.
I have to find out more about this guy's dyno rig. He's pretty much confirming what we've known for awhile even without the dyno. While the Echo's are built/priced well, there's a reason they do not advertise power. And that loops back to my point earlier, if this is for a business where time = money, spending the extra bucks on a MS261C or 550XP will get you a tool that is built as well or better, has some pretty awesome features (even above the Echo), and is just going to put more wood in the rack for the time spent. One could argue that a ported 4910 would outgun a stock 261 or even a 550XP, but then it's slightly more expensive, no warranty, and no M-Tronic/AutoTune.
Joes an awesome dude and very meticulous on everything. Whats kinda funny is that ms 271 after joe ports it puts up some pretty big power numbers
He's definitely a quality human being. I need to drive a couple saws down to get Dynoed one of these days.
My 2 cents on the 025- get another, and use your current one for parts. I had a large Beech go south when I was felling it (literally, I wanted it to go east) and come down on my MS 290. Damage similar to what you describe. I replaced the handle, and main chassis, maybe some other parts, off ebay with genuine used parts (this was before all the knockoffs were available) I think I had $100 into it to bring it back to life, but I would have been farther ahead buying a new one, or good running used one. That saw is still together, but it is now my backup to my 290/390 hybrid. All that said, 4910 looks like it will keep you going for a few years.
I’m sure he’d be happy with either the 261 or the 550. I’ve had the 550 for about a year now, and can describe it in one word: spunky! Impressive throttle response. Great power to weight. I’ve had no disappointments with it so far.
Watching those dyno pulls, I'm thinking in my head, "If we could get a servo motor on that load valve, tied into maybe an Arduino board to run the PID and accept a max RPM setpoint, we could control the dyno sweep time like larger engine and chassis dynos ...."
I saved 15% on the 501P I bought last fall by taking advantage of the 1 day sale event. *Only X Series equipment qualifies. Basically got the saw, bunch of fuel filters and some other smalls for the retail price of the saw OTD. One Day Sale | ECHO-USA.com
