Couple of quick points, if I may.

First of all, companies such as 3W, DA, BME, and ZDZ do use totally proprietary parts for their engine designs. BME is currently switching to it's own cylinders, so you can say good-bye to the Echo chainsaw jugs. Are these pieces better? worse? no different? .. let's just say they are optimized for what WE do, according to their producers parameters and requirements. The current BME102 "Evo" is very close in power to the DA100 and old-style standard 3W100, as well as the Brison 6.4 (using Sachs heads), and the BME used Echo jugs . .they worked, and still do, and are a perfectly good piece. 3W started life using converted chainsaw jugs, Brison continues to do so.

The guys designing their own cylinders with proprietary porting and running characteristics are going for power THEIR way, not the way Echo, or Sachs or someone else dictated when they designed a leaf-blower, weedeater or chainsaw. Does this make their products "Better"? No, not really, just more closely focused on OUR market.

So, take 3W, DA, ZDZ and BME. .NOW the only part they have in common with a chainsaw is the carburetor, be it Walbro or Tillotson. Why?. . simple economics. . YOU go out and tool up a carburetor for these engines .. then sell it for $25/copy the way Walbro and Tillotson do to their jobbers or resellers. It's not going to happen. Getting on the case of engine bulders because they use a commonly available carburetor (that is probably slightly "tweaked" to their specs before shipping) is pointless.

As for engine "breakin". . it is, in the end, up to the consumer. . but these engine builders do not recommend a certain type of break-in procedure just for the sake of it. They do it because it has proven, time and again, to be the best and most consistent way of making sure that their product gives the best power and longevity possible. That's what the customers want. . that's what they try to supply.

A last note. . I see $30-50,000 cars all the time that are totally worthless or abused to the ends of their useful life. . why? because the OWNER did not follow the manufacturers service recommendations. . .. seems to me that if you follow the manufacturers directions, you can't go wrong. . they sure aren't going to recommend something that is going to ruin their product.