Husqvarna / Gas / Professional

Husqvarna 550 XP Mark II

Name: Husqvarna 550 XP Mark II
Brand: Husqvarna
Price: 749 USD
Availability: InStock

50cc class

50.1cc

Engine

3 kW rated

18 in

Bar

cuts to about 16 in

11.7 lb

Weight

powerhead only

~$749

approx., with 16", 18", or 20" bar and chain

See it at Husqvarna

Price and availability on Husqvarna's site may differ.

The 550 XP Mark II is what happens when a manufacturer actually fixes a saw: the original 550 XP's air-leak and AutoTune teething drama is largely behind it, and what's left is arguably the best 50cc saw money buys — four horsepower at 11.7 pounds, an X-Cut chain from the factory, and handling that arborists describe as telepathic in the limbs. Dealer pricing runs $660-760, and much of the pro crowd that was burned by the Mark I now recommends the Mark II, though crank-bearing failures are still reported on Mark II saws and at least one dealer stopped stocking them over it. AutoTune means no carb screwdriver, ever — it compensates for altitude, fuel, and filter condition automatically. The honest asterisks: it wants to rev and rewards full-throttle technique (lug it and it feels flat), dealer-only distribution means no big-box convenience, and casual cutters are paying a $250 premium over a Rancher for refinement they may never use. For daily-use limbing and firewood at speed, nothing in the class touches it.

Best for: Serious firewood cutters and pros who run a saw hard enough to feel the difference refinement makes.

Specifications

Engine class: 50cc class (by displacement)
Engine: 50.1 cc
Rated power: 3 kW
Bar length: 18 in
Bar range: 13-20 in
Single-pass cut: about 16 in (bar minus 2)
Chain: .325" pitch / .050" gauge (X-Cut SP33G)
Weight: 11.7 lb, powerhead only
Power type: Gas
Use case: Professional
Warranty: 2-year consumer / 1-year commercial
Model: 550 XP Mark II

Manufacturer figures except the engine class and single-pass cut, which are derived here. What each spec means

4 hp from 50cc at 11.7 lb
AutoTune — no carb tuning ever
The pro limbing benchmark

What owners like

Class-leading power-to-weight — 3.0 kW in an 11.7 lb package
Mark II revision put the original's air-leak reputation behind it
AutoTune self-adjusts for altitude, fuel, and filter condition
Factory X-Cut SP33G chain is sharp and smooth out of the box
Magnesium crankcase built for rebuild-and-run-again pro life
Light enough and smooth enough to run at full output all day, though fallers who run both rate the Stihl MS 261 as the less vibey saw in the cut

Common complaints

Crank-bearing failures are still reported on Mark II saws despite Husqvarna calling the problem fixed — one dealer stopped stocking them over it
Dealer-only pricing runs $660-760 — double a big-box 50cc saw
Wants to be run at full throttle; feels flat when lugged
AutoTune requires a dealer with diagnostic gear for deep service
Overkill money for occasional weekend cutting
20-inch bar is its ceiling — big-wood buyers need the 562/572

What owners say

Read from owner discussions, long-term write-ups and dated retail reviews; nothing here was measured on this site.

The 550 XP Mark II is the 50cc saw owners who own other saws end up using, and the testimonials are specific about why. It is the one that got taken into a storm that broke millions of trees in Alaska; the one used to cut over a hundred fallen trees after a winter storm with no trouble; the saw a homeowner with a 592 XP in the shed grabs anyway. Professionals pair it with a 572 and run it daily. One owner bought the Stihl MS 261 C-M first, then this, and documented the comparison repeatedly: the Husqvarna came out faster, smoother, cooler-running, better finished, and its factory X-Cut chain held an edge far longer — and still won once both saws had the same muffler mod.

The honest counterweight is that the Stihl is not beaten on everything. The owner who runs both daily on a crew says the 550 is lighter, picks up revs faster and feels like it has more chain speed, but that the 261 has more torque when you lean on it with a full bar buried in a stem. A long-time faller says that with identical chains and 18-inch bars — and he insists 20 inches is too much bar for either — they cut neck and neck, and that the Stihl feels nicer, better balanced and less vibey while the Husqvarna feels angrier. Owners also dispute the chain claim: Stihl chain is widely held to be harder and to hold its edge longer, which cuts directly against the one head-to-head that measured it.

The risks worth knowing before buying are mechanical. A dealer reports ongoing crank bearing problems and stopped stocking them over it, saying Husqvarna's assurance that it was resolved has not matched their experience; one owner had a ball bearing fail on a Mark II; another blew his oiler in two months and waited on the part. Owners who service their own saws call the 5-series complicated and expensive, with odd bolts, model-specific fuel lines and AutoTune diagnostics that need a dealer's software — and in much of the country there are eight or ten Stihl dealers for every Husqvarna one, with the XP series not stocked at big-box stores at all. Weighed against that, owners who bought at $600 to $620 with premix thrown in think they got a bargain, and the people who use theirs hardest are the ones who talk about it best.

What owners like

It is the saw owners with bigger saws keep reaching for. An Alaskan whose regret purchase was a 592 XP names the 550 XP Mark II as the one he fell in love with and credits it with cutting an escape route from his house during a storm that broke millions of trees; another cut over 100 fallen trees and limbs after a severe winter storm without a single issue and calls it the ultimate truck and firewood saw.
One owner bought a Stihl MS 261 C-M first and then the 550 and documented the comparison over several rounds of testing: better fit and finish, faster cutting, smoother running, cooler running, and a factory X-Cut chain that held its edge far longer. With the same muffler modification fitted to both, the Husqvarna still pulled ahead.
A crew member who runs both daily agrees on the mechanics of why: the 550 is a little lighter, has better fuel and oil caps, picks up revs and gets on the pipe quicker, and feels like it has higher chain speed.
Professionals use it as a primary saw, not a backup. Two describe running a 550 and a 572 as their daily pair, and one adds that with an 18-inch bar the 550 handles 24-inch poplar or cottonwood comfortably.
The external clutch turns out to be a feature. Owners who first read it as a downgrade came round when they understood it puts the bar closer to the centre of the saw and improves handling — and the top cover comes off without tools.
On sale it is not pro-saw money. Owners report $620 with six quarts of premix and a gallon of bar oil, around $600 on promotion, and €750 in Finland for the heated XPG with a 15-inch bar including VAT.

Common complaints

Crank bearings are the serious reservation. A dealer says the 550 still has crank bearing issues and that they stopped bringing them in until it was resolved — and that Husqvarna's claim the problem was fixed has not matched what they see. A separate owner reports a failed ball bearing on a Mark II.
Oiler failures and parts waits. One owner blew his 550's oiler within two months of hard cutting through thousands of evergreen oaks and was still waiting on the replacement part when he wrote about it.
Owners who do their own work dislike servicing the 5-series: odd-sized bolts, model-specific fuel lines and parts that are not on the shelf when you need them. The AutoTune carburettor and coil also have to be from the same series and get reprogrammed by a dealer, so a misbehaving saw is not something you diagnose in the shed.
It trades low-end torque for top end, and owners who lean on a saw notice. A crew member running both says that bogged down in a full-bar-length cut chunking out a stem, the Stihl MS 261 has more torque when you want to push; a long-time faller and arborist says the two cut neck and neck with identical chains and 18-inch bars but that the Stihl feels nicer, lighter, better balanced and less vibey in the cut, where the Husqvarna just feels angrier. Hot starts are an occasional complaint too.

Questions owners ask

Does the Mark II still have the crank bearing problem?

This is the one claim worth pressing a dealer on. A dealer reports that the 550 still has crank bearing issues and that they stopped bringing them in until it was fixed, and that Husqvarna's statement the issue was resolved has not matched what they see. A separate owner reports a failed ball bearing on a Mark II. Plenty of owners have had no trouble at all, including people running them commercially, so treat it as a warranty question — confirm the terms and buy from a dealer who will handle a claim rather than from the cheapest source.

How does it actually compare with the Stihl MS 261 C-M?

The most-documented comparison, by an owner who bought both, has the Husqvarna faster, smoother, cooler-running and better finished, and still ahead once both had the same muffler mod. The nuance comes from a crew member who runs both every day: the 550 is a little lighter, revs up quicker and feels like it has more chain speed, but the 261 has more torque when you lean on it in a long cut. A faller who uses both with identical 18-inch setups says they cut at the same speed and the Stihl feels better balanced and less vibey. Several owners say the real tiebreaker is which dealer will look after you.

Do I ever need to touch the carburettor?

Not in normal use — AutoTune handles altitude, fuel and filter condition itself. Two things owners warn about. Do not run it out of fuel mid-cut, and read the manual's calibration procedure so you can reset the AutoTune after changing the air filter or exhaust. The downside is that when it does misbehave you cannot troubleshoot it like a carburetted saw: the carb and coil must be of the same series and a dealer has to reprogram them, and owners who insist on fixing everything themselves say that alone pushes them to a conventional saw.

What bar belongs on it?

Eighteen inches is the working answer and the one professionals name for all-round use, including for 24-inch poplar and cottonwood. A long-time faller insists 20 inches is too much bar for a 50cc pro saw and that owners fit them for the wrong reasons. At the other end, owners who limb and clear trails run 13 to 16 inches and say the saw comes alive there. If your wood consistently wants more than 18 inches, owners say buy the 562 or 572 rather than hang a longer bar on this.

Why does it feel lazy when I ease into a cut?

Because it is tuned for the top end. Owners who run it alongside a Stihl MS 261 describe the 550 as the saw that picks up revs fast and has the higher chain speed, and the 261 as the one with torque to lean on. An owner who also has a Husqvarna 353 says the 550 Mark II has far more top end while the 353 has more torque. Run it wide open and let chain speed do the work instead of pushing the bar, and keep a sharp chain on it, which owners say makes more difference than anything else.

Is a pro saw a silly choice for a first chainsaw?

Owners overwhelmingly say no, and the usual phrasing is that a Stihl MS 261 or Husqvarna 550 is basically all the saw most people need — if they could keep only one, it would be one of those two. The argument against the cheap route is that homeowner saws are not the same machines with a different badge, and that nobody wants to work on them when they fail. The counter-argument owners make is about frequency: if the saw will run an hour a year, the money is wasted and a battery saw avoids the stale-fuel repairs entirely.

Drawn from 7 owner threads and long-term reviews, kept on file with this entry.