4 stroke chainsaw

[NWnewguy]

Other than hotsaws has anyone here ever seen a 4 stroke chainsaw. I tried out a few different ( Honda=OK, Creaftsman=POS) 4 stroke string trimmers and thought they weren't so hot and they were heavier than all get out. Of course I have a Stihl FS85 that is a few years old and runs and cuts great and then I have a newer FS90 that is a 4 mix and it is much slower and a little trickier to start. It definitely took some getting used to. It does sound better though and once you get used to it, it does a good job, you just don't get to blip the throttle like you can with a 2 stroke. Are any of the major manufacturers looking into it or is the weight issue too much. I know when I got my Yamaha YZF 400 back in 99' everyone thought it was going to be too heavy and not have the throttle response and now I don't think there is hardly anyone left running 2 strokes.

 

[computeruser]

Heard of? Yes. Seen? No. Not in any hurry to see saws go to 4-stroke, though I'm sure they'll be forced upon us before too long...

 

[robby26wi]

forced upon us? I wouldnt trade my 4 stroke dirt bike for anything....Trust me they all have the technology to do it....I just hope its soon because i cant wait to sink a 90cc 4 stroke in a hard maple and having it scream 14,000 and have a buttload of torque to match

 

[livewire]

No thanks

4 stroke on an ATV or Dirtbike is a different animal than a worksaw!

You get a workout riding trails hard but you don't have to lift, carry and use an ATV all day....

I'd be better off buying a used Spree and modding a B/C to it if I were interested in carrying a heavy saw around...

 

[robby26wi]

well my bike only weighs like 5% more then its 2 stroke counterpart and makes like 5hp more and lord only knows how much more torque....So i guess it must be able to work somehow...

 

[livewire]

well my bike only weighs like 5% more then its 2 stroke counterpart and makes like 5hp more and lord only knows how much more torque....So i guess it must be able to work somehow...

Like I said......you don't have to carry a bike all day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[robby26wi]

I guess you arent getting what i am saying about the comparison....If they can get the same hp and more with like a boatload more torque out of a dirt bike engine with just a touch more weight then why couldnt they do the same with a chainsaw engine..

 

[IchWarriorMkII]

Dirt bikes are one thing, they seem able to put the HP and absorb the extra weight and still be competitive.


But in snowmobiles, they try all they want to shove a Yamaha 4 stroker mountain sled down everyones throats, and they are underpowered and over weight... Every year since they started making mountain sleds to run in the steep and deep there was one primary concern: Weight. The second was power... but all the power in the world doesn't make it easier to dig your sled out of the snow.

Now they want to push a 600+ pound sled on us and say it 'feels' light? Ha, not likely. Can it hang with ANY two stroker sled that can churn 140+ HP stock and runs almost 100lbs light? Um, I have my doubts...



I think the same thing is going to happen with saws... You can 4 stroke up a weed eater, thats no big deal. You can probably push a heavier 4 stroke saw to work as a milling machine, but you are going to have to dump some SERIOUS marketing money into your professional use chainsaws to make the market look at them.

 

[robby26wi]

I would pay almost double to have a screaming 4 stroke chainsaw that made the same HP and just a bit more weight....Because i know for a fact that when you sink that thing into a log you with have a load more torque to pull you through it...my 450 makes like 60 horse....divide that by 5 and you get 90cc and thats like 12hp per....so a 90cc saw with 12hp and a 4 stroke....where do i sign up

 

[IchWarriorMkII]

Well *if* they could do it...

But having a 100cc saw thats going to run kinda sorta like my 50cc saw is going to be a hard concept to swallow

 

[Ianab]

I guess you arent getting what i am saying about the comparison....If they can get the same hp and more with like a boatload more torque out of a dirt bike engine with just a touch more weight then why couldnt they do the same with a chainsaw engine..

A 'touch' more weight might be 5 or 10 lbs, not a big deal on a trail bike, but thats a lot more heft on an 18lb chainsaw. With the trailbike there are a lot of extra parts that dont change, frame, gearbox, wheel etc. On a chainsaw the engine is the main part of the machine. It's going to add more than 5% to a saws weight.

Not saying a good 4 stroke chainsaw cant be made, just going to be tricky to make it light AND affordable.

Cheers

Ian

 

[04ultra]

Well *if* they could do it...

But having a 100cc saw thats going to run kinda sorta like my 50cc saw is going to be a hard concept to swallow

Yamaha RX1 chainsaw will be there move after the RX1 Rhino......



.

 

[NWnewguy]

I would think that if they did come out with one you would definitely have to get your chain speed up before putting it in the wood. My 4mix trimmer is pretty slow to rev ( compared to a 2stroke), but does fine once it's there.

 

[robby26wi]

well a 2 stroke is like 220 and mine is like 230...so thats 10 lbs but u are dealing with something thats like 100 times heavier then a chainsaw so what is 5% of 18 lbs....thats like less then a half pound...

 

[robby26wi]

well i dont hardly think the 4mix is hardly high performance...Most higher performance 4 strokes will run as many rpm's as the 2 stroke conterparts or more...

 

[sperho]

I would think that if they did come out with one you would definitely have to get your chain speed up before putting it in the wood. My 4mix trimmer is pretty slow to rev ( compared to a 2stroke), but does fine once it's there.

That's what I was thinking. I love my 4-mix trimmer, despite the slower spool-up. It's a Crazy Torque Monster once it's there.

I would predict you'll see 4-strokes in big saws (felling, big bucking) first, then trickle down to the lighter saws as the technology gets refined. After all, what's another pound or two on a 22 lb beast anyway?

 

[robby26wi]

I had been a huge 2 stroke fan with dirt bikes for years and laughed at the 4 strokes...Now i own a 4 stroke and i would never look back....as you can see no one else would either....4 stroke technologies in small engines have made some huge gains in the last few years...Not only in reliability but in rpms and weight also....

 

[chowdozer]

I had been a huge 2 stroke fan with dirt bikes for years and laughed at the 4 strokes...Now i own a 4 stroke and i would never look back....as you can see no one else would either....4 stroke technologies in small engines have made some huge gains in the last few years...Not only in reliability but in rpms and weight also....

Have you ever ridden your CRF450 in the sand dunes?

 

[osb_mail]

I just think someday you might be telling your friends I got to get home and change the oil in my saw. Now that would sound funny .

 

[TooTall999]

One thing a 4-stroke saw would need is a dry sump type oil system to maintain oil pressure in all positions.I wonder if the chain oil tank could be utilized...