Solo ??

[constantine]

Does anybody own or run a Solo? The 681 from Bailey's looks good on paper and the price is attractive. There's even a 2 year warranty. Have done business with Bailey's for years and they have always given great service and stood behind their products. Just wanted to get some comments from folks with hands-on experience. Thanks.

 

[stihlboy]

solo's are pretty nice

 

[TDunk]

Thought about getting one myself. Saw one in a stock saw competition that looked pretty impressive.

 

[blsnelling]

The 681 is an improved, beefed up 7900. Great saw.

 

[joecool85]

The 681 is an improved, beefed up 7900. Great saw.

As in Dolmar 7900? I didn't realize Solo and Dolmar worked together at all.

 

[nmurph]

just get a 7900. the dealer support is better for the dolmars and you are only giving up 1cc and .1hp. Troll also seems to think the 681's are considerably heavier than the 7900. i think there is a difference in one of the AV mounts. i don't remember about other differences.

 

[blsnelling]

As in Dolmar 7900? I didn't realize Solo and Dolmar worked together at all.

Yes

just get a 7900. the dealer support is better for the dolmars and you are only giving up 1cc and .1hp. Troll also seems to think the 681's are considerably heavier than the 7900. i think there is a difference in one of the AV mounts. i don't remember about other differences.

Bigger crank bearings, better air filter than 7900 stock. There are more but I don't remember them all.

 

[SteveH]

I haven't had an opportunity to run one myself but every time the question comes up on the forum I read good stuff, and the price is certainly good.

 

[joecool85]

Yes



Bigger crank bearings, better air filter than 7900 stock. There are more but I don't remember them all.

So are Solo/Dolmar owned by the same company or something?

 

[mikefunaro]

A lot of people thought that the 681 was a cleaned up version of the 7900. The official word was something to the effect that solo and dolmar worked closely in early development of their new 60-90cc saw families, but then things went south. Regardless, both of them look very close. If you do a search you'll find a lot of stuff.

The solo has their very basic but functional prefilter system (nice nylon screen that takes care of large chips). In addition to what snelling said for improvements/advantages over the dolmar, supposedly the AV mount from the handlebar to the P/C mount is beefed up or less prone to breaking. Again, relatively minor stuff.

The real downside I see is that there are a lot of aftermarket P&C kits and parts available for the dolmar saws. This does not seem to be the case with the solo, at least from what I have seen. I think you'd want to do careful research before you assumed that any parts were interchangeable.

 

[constantine]

Thank you all for the good info. I think I'll call Bailey's and ask about the availability of clutch drums, rims, filters, AV parts and the like before I put the money down. Hadn't really considered the possibility of using a big bore kit. I will want to check on an extra muffler in case I screw up the first one opening it up. Anybody know if there are limiters on the carb?
Thanks again guys.

 

[nmurph]

thnks brad. i knew the air filter but it slipped my mind. i didn't know the bearing difference. the BB kit will fit either saw, but Greg said there was less gain with BB on the Solo vs on the Dolly. i would think the BB 7900 would be very close to 7hp, though the porting of the kit might not be as aggressive as the OEM p/c. i would also like to see a Solo on a good set of scales. i know the Dolly is about 13lb 10oz PHO w/o fluids.

 

[brncreeper]

Yes



Bigger crank bearings, better air filter than 7900 stock. There are more but I don't remember them all.

I like the idea of having the larger bearings together with a 32" bar. The Walbro carb seems to be the favorite also.
Parts can be ordered online.

 

[litefoot]

Couple of thoughts. The Bailey's price is w/o bar and chain. So figure in another $50-75. Saying that Dolmar customer support is better...well........ Also the difference in displacement between the 7900 and the 681 is in the stroke, not the bore. So in my mind, with the BB kit, the 681 would share the same bore but have tighter squish (1 mm less) and noticeably higher compression. So it would be like a decked 7900 with a BB kit. Or am I missing something?

 

[ciscoguy01]

Hmmmmm

Well, I did run one and was actually pretty impressed. Twas a bit faster than the 7900, and just a touch more grunt. However, it was heavier and seemed a bit bulkier and a tad more combersome to me. Guess if I had to make a choice between the 7900 and the 681, I'd still go the 7900 way... Been runnin mine for a couple years now. Just the other day I had it in 28" oak with a 24" b/c on it, chewed it up like no tomorrow. I still get all goosebumped when I fire up my 7900. Sounds like a little race car, lmao... All in all, I guess I'd buy one just to stick in the arsenal... When time came to use though if I had'em both, I'd grab for the 7900.

 

[blewgrass]

I've got a 633 (small top handle) and it is surprisingly well made with good power. My only issue is that it bleeds bar and chain oil like a jonsered, but I can live with that.