I picked up a very nice Makita 6401 from eBay over the winter. It had been a rental and came with a nearly new bar and new 20" safety chain which was quickly replaced with a 25" bar that I had on hand. I detailed it in a thread earlier.
The seller had been auctioning them individually from time to time, and they had caught my attention. Then he listed four all at the same time, with the sales finishing up on a Monday afternoon. I ended up paying $240.
It showed up two days later in a box too big to hide from my wife. I pulled the muffler and checked the cylinder: good. Fired on the third pull and its been running great since. I did drill a few extra holes in the muffler. Its a very strong, well made saw that puts Stihl to shame.
I checked on upgrading. All of the parts are the same in the series except the piston and jug. According to Dan, Terry, and others, swapping out to a 7901 top end is simple. If I had the money right now, I'd probably do it, but I'm happy with the saw as is. 13.5 is a bit heavy for a 64cc saw, but not for a 79cc. Still, its got more power than your typical 64cc. I heard that there was a power ported top end floating around a while ago - don't know if its still available, but you might want to PM woodsjunkie.
When they come out with the 50cc bubble top saw, my 026 is up for sale.
