# Stihl MS661 C-M first impressions



## Husqvolmar87 (Oct 9, 2013)

Hello AS!

My name is stephan, im a 26 year old chainsaw fanatic from south-western germany 

Since two years, I read this site here a lot. I must say, it is blowing me away how much knowledge and experience some of you guys have! Especially the saw-builders! I am a big Fan of those professional builders like Terry Landrum, Brad Snelling, Mastermind, Stumpy and all the others!

I am very interested in worksaw modifications, but germany, the land of dolmar, stihl and solo is unfortunately a wasteland when it comes to modded worksaws. There is no one who port worksaws on a professional level . That's why I tried it myself and step by step I'm getting better. But there is still a long, long, long way for me to become even semi-pro. But this site has already helped me a lot!

Half a year ago, I was in contact with Terry Landrum. I helped him a little with his logo design and He sold me a “wicked work saw kit” for my 390! I'm still very excited about it! Terry is really a great guy!


Last week I got a brand new Stihl MS661 CM and I did a little test with it against my 390 with the “wicked work saw kit”. I already posted this comparison in our german “motorsaegen-portal”.

The test was not really good, because I had little time and the weather was very bad. But I had some good feedback for it.

Then I thought to myself, why I should not post it here?

So here is my first post on AS


Brand new MS 661 CM











Here in comparison with my 390










Filtration differences between 261 and 661
The 661 has no pre-filtration!

















Some first and nice impressions of the 661:
- excellent finish and quality
- good acceleration and throttle response
- great antivibration system
- high torque

Negative impressions:

the filtration is not impressive, so it looks after only two cuts in small beechwood.









Here the videos

(both saws wearing 20" bars, new stihl rsc chains and 8 pin rims)











Some cuts in hard beechwood



First two cuts without pushing the saws.
In the third cut i’ve tried to push both saws the same way.


Noodling test




Airfilter test





I know the test was not fair, but that ported 390 is the only other saw in that class that I have at the moment. I also would have liked to have thicker wood for the test, but in the matter of time it was not possible for me.

One thing I can say, out of the box, the 661 is a damn strong saw. The saw feels noticeable stronger and more agile then its predecessor 660. The m-tronic does an excellent job!
Also, the saw has only been run for ten minutes! I'm sure that the saw will get even stronger after a few tanks of fuel.


If you have questions, or want specific pictures or videos, I'll try to get it.

Throughout the week I will weigh both saws for comparison.


I hope it was something interesting for you, and of course not my last post on AS… 


Greetings Stephan


PS: excuse my bad english, I will improve it…school is so long ago 
Is it possible to send this saw from germany to the u.s.? To a serious builder?


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## fastLeo151 (Oct 9, 2013)

Good info, its too bad they had to change the air filter after I have already stocked up on the hd2 ones......


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## Joe Kidd (Oct 9, 2013)

That Husq definitely kicks ass!  That other saw was what brand again?


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## buzz sawyer (Oct 9, 2013)

Let me be the first to congratulate you on a great first post. Rep sent. That 390 is VERY impressive.

Welcome to the site.


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## Gologit (Oct 9, 2013)

Thanks Stephan. Great post.


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## Termite (Oct 9, 2013)

No need to apologize for your English. I think it is a big accomplishment to learn a second language. I am still trying to learn my first language.


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## Joe Kidd (Oct 9, 2013)

Termite said:


> No need to apologize for your English. I think it is a big accomplishment to learn a second language. I am still trying to learn my first language.



Joe Kidd liked this post.


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## XSKIER (Oct 9, 2013)

Like!


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## xxl (Oct 9, 2013)

Nice 390 still not sure what to make of the 661


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## Trx250r180 (Oct 9, 2013)

what's the chances of popping the jug off to see what's inside :msp_rolleyes:

and if my rep is working you just got a positive rep


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## sawfun9 (Oct 9, 2013)

+1 great post


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## xxl (Oct 9, 2013)

Trx250r180 said:


> what's the chances of popping the jug off to see what's inside :msp_rolleyes:
> 
> and if my rep is working you just got a positive rep



i lovet to see the inside i wounder if its a Mahle cylinder


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## Rudolf73 (Oct 9, 2013)

Thanks great post - Gut gemacht!


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## stihl for life (Oct 9, 2013)

awsome post ehh glad u joined


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## zogger (Oct 9, 2013)

Man, both those saws rip!!! I'd be happy with either one......


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## terryknight (Oct 9, 2013)

welcome and thanks for the vids


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## blsnelling (Oct 9, 2013)

Nice saw. I'm anxious to check one out!


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## bryanr2 (Oct 9, 2013)

OP- how does the 661 feel in your hand as opposed to the 390xp? Weight, balance- just overall feel?


And your first post was fantastic- it was put together well, easy to follow, and easy to understand. It was very fluid I thought. It takes a lot of effort to put together a post like that.


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## mdavlee (Oct 9, 2013)

Nice video. I'm sure with break in the 661 will gain. Is the antivibe better on the stihl?


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## Stihlman441 (Oct 9, 2013)

Rep sent thanks for that.


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## CapitaineHaddoc (Oct 10, 2013)

That's a great post!

I have a question, where did you get your SugiHara bar? I live in France, near the German border, and these bars are unavailables except in import.


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## tlandrum (Oct 10, 2013)

me likey the 390


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## MCW (Oct 10, 2013)

Good thread. It will be interesting to see the gains that can be made on a 661 from porting. From what I've heard with the way the 661's transfers are designed it may not be as easy as people think an you'll be porting the case as well as the cylinder.
Good old 390's, gotta love 'em...


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## wyk (Oct 10, 2013)

CapitaineHaddoc said:


> That's a great post!
> 
> I have a question, where did you get your SugiHara bar? I live in France, near the German border, and these bars are unavailables except in import.



'Chainsawbars' in the UK should have a shipment in next week.


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## John R (Oct 10, 2013)

MCW said:


> Good old 390's, gotta love 'em...



Great boat anchors. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## John R (Oct 10, 2013)

MCW said:


> Good old 390's, gotta love 'em...



Great boat anchors. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## chadihman (Oct 10, 2013)

Love it! Thanks for posting. Keep up us updated on how the 661 does after more use. That 390 looks like fun.


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## chadihman (Oct 10, 2013)

Love it! Thanks for posting. Keep up us updated on how the 661 does after more use. That 390 looks like fun.


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## mdavlee (Oct 10, 2013)

John R said:


> Great boat anchors. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:



Stihl ms390s the best boat anchor they made.


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## Husqvolmar87 (Oct 11, 2013)

Sorry guys....

Linkbucks strikes back.... :bang:

I wanted to post new photos and answer a few questions, but this is not very great with the smartphone...

I hope it works again later

Thank you for the nice welcome here! AS is just great! 

Greetings Stephan


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## CapitaineHaddoc (Oct 11, 2013)

reindeer said:


> 'Chainsawbars' in the UK should have a shipment in next week.



Thank you, this site looks to me very interesting, even if the chains are very expensive, the guides are at good prices!


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## Jacob J. (Oct 11, 2013)

Husqvolmar87 said:


> Sorry guys....
> 
> Linkbucks strikes back.... :bang:
> 
> ...



Stephan- you can run Mozilla Firefox with the "NoScript" add-on and it will work on the forum even with Linkbucks, you just set NoScript to block Linkbucks. 

On the 661 air filter- you'd most likely have good results with a pre-filter like the felt wrap that come on the TS-760 filter or an "Outerwears" brand wrap.


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## SierraWoodsman (Oct 11, 2013)

That is one "Wicked" 390 for sure! The builders here would love to get their hands on a 661 C-M and properly port her.
Then maybe you could make a follow up video comparing ported "Apple's to Apple's"
Great post!


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## SCHallenger (Oct 11, 2013)

Your english is a LOT better than my german & considerably better than many who speak it as their only tongue! Thanks for the very professionally done vids. Though I'll not likely own another saw in the 90cc category, I sure (bad english!! I should have said surely) enjoyed watching them & hope you post more. WELCOME!


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## Husqvolmar87 (Oct 11, 2013)

I have something new for you 


I have looked at the machine more closely..


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## Husqvolmar87 (Oct 11, 2013)




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## Husqvolmar87 (Oct 11, 2013)

Now to the interesting part...

Exhaust











Piston











Cylinder






Intake


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## Husqvolmar87 (Oct 11, 2013)

Transfers










Exhaustport


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## Husqvolmar87 (Oct 11, 2013)

Gilardoni cylinder like the 441






After that I weighed the machines with max. fuel and chainoil

8,3kg = 18,4lb's





With bar and chain, 22lb's






390, 8,9kg = 19,6lb's





With bar and chain, 10,5kg = 23,8lb's







Today, i have cut some wood with the 661 and i must say the saw handles great! The stihl is good balanced but a litte bit wider than the husky, the 390 turns slightly better at the front handlebar. But the AV system is a dream on the Stihl, noticeably better than on the husky!
What also really excites me is the perfect production quality of the 661, everything feels high-quality and precise. 

@Jacob J.
Thanks for the info 

@Haddoc
I have that sugibar from a dealer on our german forum. Unhappily, the sugi's are sold out at the moment. 


I hope the pictures are useful for you, tomorrow I'll take the 661 with to the woods for the first time. Im looking forward to it


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## CRE1992 (Oct 11, 2013)

I give you props for tearing it down just to show everyone. That cylinder looks really good from what I see. I wonder what our builders think... That 390 absolutely shreds! Nice saws! If you have a compression tester can you find out the compression on the 661?

Thanks!


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## mdavlee (Oct 11, 2013)

Looks like a bigger 461. It should respond real nicely to port work and compression increases. I'm surprised it weighed less than the 390. How much fuel and oil does it hold? I know the 390 held more than the 660.

Thanks for the tear down and all the pictures. I'm excited for them to hit over hear now since it's not a bigger 441.


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## wyk (Oct 12, 2013)

mdavlee said:


> Looks like a bigger 461. It should respond real nicely to port work and compression increases. I'm surprised it weighed less than the 390. How much fuel and oil does it hold? I know the 390 held more than the 660.
> 
> Thanks for the tear down and all the pictures. I'm excited for them to hit over hear now since it's not a bigger 441.



In the past, even though I was a fan of the 066, I never picked one up because the AV was a white knuckle-inducing 20 years old and there was a great alternative in the 390xp. With the weight and AV as you claim they are, I think STIHL finally have a great alternative to the 390 and 395. Ausgezeichnet. Now I am more curious to see what Husqvarna brings to the table.


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## mountainlake (Oct 12, 2013)

To be fair your were getting into a lot more rotten wood with the 390. Steve


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## 7sleeper (Oct 12, 2013)

What a horrible thread! Totally uninteresting, bad english, strange coloured photos and all this from some unknown geek across the big lake (probably the secret inventor of linkbust:msp_tongue.....



Servus Stephan, endlich bist Du auch hier zugegen, wie ich sehe muss ich in Zukunft nur noch hierher kommen um dein Werken zu sehen! Du koentest aber ruhig etrwas von deinen anderen Mods zeigen. Ich denke Du weisst was ich von deinem Talent halte.
Falls Du am PC arbeitest kannst Du mit Firefox & NoScript sicher gehen das die Linkbust Seiten dich nicht kapern.

LG,

7


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## xxl (Oct 12, 2013)

Thanks for doing all you did to show us. Very helpful


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## XSKIER (Oct 12, 2013)

Wow. What a high quality machine! Every detail shown is just perfect. Stihl's attention to detail is simply amazing!!!


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## Joe Kidd (Oct 12, 2013)

That's German quality compared to homeowner saws made in the states. More reason IMO for anyone to save up and buy pro saws.


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## Vermonster (Oct 12, 2013)

Wow!! Very impressive. That 390 is a beast. Also, nice to see someone actually demonstrating on some seriously hard hardwood, Beech.


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## Stihlman441 (Oct 12, 2013)

Thanks for the pics well done,i tried to rep you but must share the joy.


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## MCW (Oct 13, 2013)

7sleeper said:


> Servus Stephan, endlich bist Du auch hier zugegen, wie ich sehe muss ich in Zukunft nur noch hierher kommen um dein Werken zu sehen! Du koentest aber ruhig etrwas von deinen anderen Mods zeigen. Ich denke Du weisst was ich von deinem Talent halte.
> Falls Du am PC arbeitest kannst Du mit Firefox & NoScript sicher gehen das die Linkbust Seiten dich nicht kapern.
> 
> LG,
> ...



Heh heh. Google translate doesn't understand a few words 

"Hello Stephen, You're finally present here, as I see I need to see your works in the future, just come here! But you *koentest* quiet show *etrwas* of your other mods. I think you know what I think of your talent.
If you work on your PC you can safely go with Firefox & NoScript does not hijack the pages Linkbust you."


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## wyk (Oct 13, 2013)

MCW said:


> Heh heh. Google translate doesn't understand a few words
> 
> "Hello Stephen, You're finally present here, as I see I need to see your works in the future, just come here! But you *koentest* quiet show *etrwas* of your other mods. I think you know what I think of your talent.
> If you work on your PC you can safely go with Firefox & NoScript does not hijack the pages Linkbust you."



In fairness to google translate - those words are mispelled, and not quite conjugated directly. He was prolly going for "können" but should have conjugated it with "kannst". "etrwas" was meant to be "etwas". Try "Du kannst etwas ruhig von deinen anderen Mods zeigen"


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## Jlhotstick3 (Oct 13, 2013)

Like!


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## 7sleeper (Oct 13, 2013)

reindeer said:


> In fairness to google translate - those words are mispelled, and not quite conjugated directly. He was prolly going for "können" but should have conjugated it with "kannst". "etrwas" was meant to be "etwas". Try "Du kannst etwas ruhig von deinen anderen Mods zeigen"



Yeh that happens when your trying to tip on your mini mobile touchscreen phone....

7


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## BluntForgedEdge (Oct 13, 2013)

Greetings and Welcome aboard AS! Awesome manifestations of your saws!


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## tlandrum (Oct 13, 2013)

you should send the 661 over for the same wicked treatment.


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## old-cat (Oct 13, 2013)

tlandrum said:


> you should send the 661 over for the same wicked treatment.



Black magic treatment!


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## Grqnbech (Oct 13, 2013)

Really nice saws you got there.... I'm from Denmark, you are right there are not many modded worksaws over here.... I do a little tweakin on my saws myself, but I have not met anyone who do the same and who I could compare saws with....


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## Grqnbech (Oct 13, 2013)

Really nice saws you got there.... I'm from Denmark, you are right there are not many modded worksaws over here.... I do a little tweakin on my saws myself, but I have not met anyone who do the same and who I could compare saws with....


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## ernurse (Oct 13, 2013)

*I take it back*

I take back all the protest I had about the new technology being introduced into saws. Now that I have actually given my 441 a chance I actually prefer that technology. Dont miss the screwdriver a bit. My 660 was just ported by Treeslingr and I will have it on tues. It will be interesting to see how the 661 compares to it. I was really disappointed to find that the 661 does not have the "air-injection" type filtration of the 441 and Husky saws. I think they really had a chance to make what appears to be a good saw a great saw. Only time will tell.


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## VASAW (Nov 7, 2013)

I like that 661!


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## Stihl working hard (Dec 3, 2013)

blsnelling said:


> Nice saw. I'm anxious to check one out!


Tell me about it everyone's toey in Ozz


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## Island Faller (Mar 9, 2014)

blsnelling said:


> Nice saw. I'm anxious to check one out!


Have you modified one yet?


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## pro94lt (Mar 9, 2014)

How's the 661 holding up?


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## burnses (Mar 9, 2014)

the 661 just got put on the trailer by much older technology!

nice vid keep em coming
sap can


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## Husqvolmar87 (Mar 20, 2014)

Sorry, please excuse my absence here...

My muffler modded 661 is still pulling strong with over 40 tanks of fuel trough it 

Here in german oak, the chain is a little bit stressed, because i've made a lot of cuts bevore i have taken the gopro video and the wood is not really clean



(and yes, the logo on the saw has some similarity with terry landrums "wicked work saw" logo that i have helped to design some months ago, but i use that logo on the saw only for my private saws and use, because i think it looks cool  )

Some weeks ago i have tried to send the 661 to Brad Snelling for porting, but the momentary shipping rules dont allow me to send a machine that runs with oil and gas to the states....

Greetings Stephan

(sorry again for my bad english....)


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## XSKIER (Mar 20, 2014)

Very nice! It sounds better than any race ported MS 660 I've ever heard. If I had one of those MS 661s, I'd be making my firewood pretty short too.


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## 7sleeper (Mar 20, 2014)

Husqvolmar87 said:


> Sorry, please excuse my absence here...
> 
> My muffler modded 661 is still pulling strong with over 40 tanks of fuel trough it
> 
> ...


Servus Stephan,

Schäm Dich und nur ausnahmsweise wird Dir hier verziehen! Zum Glück hast Du als Versöhnungsgeschenk ein nettes Video mitgebracht. Weist eh nächstes Mal kommst nicht so billig davon! Da musst mir schon die Säge überlassen.... 



Servus,

7


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## HuskStihl (Mar 20, 2014)

I haven't relayed nearly that much information in over 2000 posts. Thanks much! 
I really think it was the last generation of huskies and places like this that finally convinced Stihl they had to push the limits a little. Not too many people thought the 440 was much better than the 044, same with the 460/046. Even fewer thought the 660 was an improvement over the 066. Die hard Stihl guys like mastermind and Brad were saying the 390 was better than the 660, and I think Stihl heard. The new stihls have more power, less pork, better AV and better filtration. I don't think they would have done that without the stiffer competition. The 461 and. 661 look like winners. Curious to see the 572 and 590


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## hammerlogging (Dec 28, 2014)

awesome post indeed, thanks for the effort, and follow-up.

I've looked this thread up since I have to wonder about going forward with 661s as well, could buy one any time, but just pulled another 660 out of a box so I could wait a while too.

Looks good, and I'd heard good things, so I wanted to know more. So I read the whole thread, then went back to watch the first video. No wonder so many people said "nice 390" 

I prefer my ported 660s to 390s all over the place, but for stock, that 661 seems better than a stock 660 for sure. I'll keep my eyes and ears open!

Thanks again.


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## ChevyHDNutt (Jun 8, 2016)

Can anybody help me out on getting o e of the wide clutch covers for a 661 like comes on r model? I live in Alabama and my dealer showed availability to order but been on back order forever... thanks


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## jochem mulder (Dec 20, 2016)

The 661 is a great saw....and the 390....well...just fantastic


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## gary courtney (Dec 18, 2017)

just saw video ! that 390 kicked butt!


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## trooper jd (Dec 4, 2021)

Husqvolmar87 said:


> Hello AS!
> 
> My name is stephan, im a 26 year old chainsaw fanatic from south-western germany
> 
> ...


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## trooper jd (Dec 4, 2021)

Husqvolmar87 said:


> Hello AS!
> 
> My name is stephan, im a 26 year old chainsaw fanatic from south-western germany
> 
> ...



Fantastic post, particularly for your first. I realize the 390xp is ported but you just helped me decide. I would have to order the Stihl 661 c-m and wait 6 or more months for it. The Stihl will set me back $1399 with a 25 inch bar on the plus side I own a like new 32 inch rollomatic es from old 044 that did not pull it well. On the other hand I can get a 390 xp from a local dealer in stock for $1059. One drawback to the 390 xp is that both models the dealer has only have half wrap handles and I would want full wrap. My guess is that even if I order the west coast kit from Husqvarna it would still be less money than the Stihl. I have had good luck with both brands, I just have much more in the way of Stihl bars and chains.
If anyone could let me know if running the Stihl bars and chain on the Husky will cause cut or oiling issues I would appreciate it. My 32 inch Stihl and 28 inch es light bars and full house as well as skip chains are all .050 and the Husky come with a 28 inch (Oregon maybe) .058 bar and chain. I have seen people running Stihl bars on Husky saws using bar stud spacers I just don't know if the gauge difference is a deal breaker or if you also need to change the drive spur as well.

Thanks Jason.


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## ShermanC (Dec 4, 2021)

Husqvolmar87 said:


> Hello AS!
> 
> My name is stephan, im a 26 year old chainsaw fanatic from south-western germany
> 
> ...



Excellent video and descriptions.


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