562xp/xpg mark I farmer brown build

[Fabz]

I scooped up a few mark 1 562xp/xpgs for a nice price last fall before the new mark ii version hit the states.

 

[Fabz]

After running a few tanks thru the xpg I did a dual port muffler mod and that woke the saw up nicely …
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[Fabz]

Surprisingly the saw gained quite a bit of cut speed , moreso than any other saw I’ve ever muffler modded ! Upon splitting the muffler apart I found out why

 

[Fabz]

Knowing that there were more gains to be had I ended up building a pipe for it ! After a few iterations I found the best length/volume and settled on this
View attachment IMG_4898.mov

 

[Fabz]

I was now up to 25% faster cut speed thru the timber with this rowdy pipe vs stock which is impressive to say the least. I wanted to squeeze as much cut speed as possible while keeping the jug/slug and air filter stock - with the goals of 1) increased performance , 2) good to excellent fuel mileage and 3) longevity near that of a stock unit

 

[Fabz]

After careful consideration I decided to go with a Cannon super mini 20” bar and the PS 63 STIHL chain rather than grind on the jug. It turned out to be a wise move ! Almost 42% over a stock saw with 3/8 .050 c83 chain … I must say that’s not too shabby considering the engine is BONE Stock except for the rowdy pipe and the lo pro bar/chain!

 

[Fabz]

562xpg rowdy piped with c83 on bottom 562xpg rowdy piped with ps63 on top. You can actually hear the difference in rpm as the saw revs higher / cuts faster with the ps63 … narrower chassis needs less hp to pull thru the fibers
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View attachment IMG_5199.mov

 

[Fabz]

Here they are head to head - the PS 63 is about 17% faster than the c83 (which is one of the fastest off the roll chains available) … 42% gains over a stock saw with no machining / porting/ flow work to the jug or slug makes for a happy sawyer!
View attachment new.mov

 

[Fabz]

I could do some flow work / piston mods/ intake mods- even machine / weld the combustion chamber or machine it and deck the cylinder - or preferably just use a thinner base gasket and most likely get 55-60% with a properly prepared chain but that wouldn’t be a “farmer brown build” if I did all THAT! I’d pick up more speed but at the cost of fuel economy and definitely at the cost of longevity ! I’m going to work the heck outta this saw and I want it to LAST! I see a lot of these being built and grenading in 100-200 hours which is unacceptable to me - should get hundreds and hundreds of hours out of this build

 

[Fabz]

Really not in a hurry to scoop up a mark ii version anytime in the near future but I would expect it to respond in a similar fashion. Husqvarna really does a nice job on these 562 jugs and the port timing is very good from what I’ve seen and measured. There IS room for improvement - however I’d go with flow work vs cutting the squish / machining the base on this model - it seems the engineering at Husqvarna is spot on and you can get lotsa cut speed without jeopardizing fuel economy or longevity. Also it appears the cases need to be clearanced in certain areas when cutting the cylinder base / using a thinner gasket as the transfer caps will hit and not allow a good seal which will become a ticking time bomb ! All in all I’m well pleased how this farmer brown “bolt-on” build turned out - excellent cut speed and a very enjoyable cutting experience!