Stihl ms201t or Husqvarna t540xp ?

[Will C]

My mk1 540 ripped the whole top handle off whilst starting it stood on spikes at less that 3 weeks old and husky refused to repair it under warranty. The handle came away with the carb still in it so you could look down into he pot! Needless to say I won’t be buying another.
My early 201 has been in for the ignition/flywheel mod but other than that has only had service bits in 6 years, owes me nothing and will be replaced with another when it’s time comes

Edited June 13, 2020 by Will C

[dan494]

540 for me. Have had both for a while and switch between them, 2 weeks ago the husky broke, so I ordered another immediately rather than be stuck with the 201, it's just nowhere near as powerful and useless at chogging down. Always notice the extra power when pick up the husky. 

Last one was the mk1 I've had since 2014 and been fine, new one is MK2, only done 2 days with it but feels a better saw 

[spudulike]

Not sure which 201 Dan was talking about but the Mtronic one is the best, early 201s were dire, they are not the same machine and there are a couple of significant differences making the machines completely different.

The 201 throttle rods....come on....really, any tech who has done one MS200/201 will know to turn the machine on its side and if unsure, take the lid off carefully and take a pic of the parts on a smart phone!!! They are really not that difficult to strip!

I could probably get a carb of a 201 in 1-2 mins. The 540......what shall we say, 5 minutes if you are  lucky, probably nearer 10!! That 540 throttle cable.....what a sod, who invented that one, the fiddly wire connectors...Mmmmmm, all the breather and fuel pipes, the impulse issues, the over complicated inlet manifold!!! Break the handle and bang goes the fuel tank.....the 201, a £12 part and under an hour to fit

[dan494]

4 hours ago, spudulike said:

Not sure which 201 Dan was talking about but the Mtronic one is the best, early 201s were dire, they are not the same machine and there are a couple of significant differences making the machines completely different.

The 201 throttle rods....come on....really, any tech who has done one MS200/201 will know to turn the machine on its side and if unsure, take the lid off carefully and take a pic of the parts on a smart phone!!! They are really not that difficult to strip!

I could probably get a carb of a 201 in 1-2 mins. The 540......what shall we say, 5 minutes if you are  lucky, probably nearer 10!! That 540 throttle cable.....what a sod, who invented that one, the fiddly wire connectors...Mmmmmm, all the breather and fuel pipes, the impulse issues, the over complicated inlet manifold!!! Break the handle and bang goes the fuel tank.....the 201, a £12 part and under an hour to fit

It's a 2017 much less power than the 2014 540xp, and even more so than the 2020 one I just got! I don't really notice that much difference between the Stihl 201 and echo 2511 tbh, both slow right down on bigger stuff

[spudulike]

Both the T540XP and the MS201TC-M are rated at 2.4HP.....