Crank problems on the early Solo 681s

[OsageOrange]

I'm thinking seriously about buying one of the last German-made Solo 681s, but because of the multiple cases of crankshaft failures reported on this site regarding the early production of that model, I'm hoping some of you members can offer some advice as to whether I should go through with the purchase. I've also read that Solo allegedly made design modifications on the 681 crankshaft back in 2012 that corrected the problems. Is that true, and if so, would a 681 made in 2014 likely survive over the long haul without a crank failure. Any information members might provide on this topic will be greatly appreciated!

 

[CR888]

Pretty sure the later ones were beefed up. If your looking at 2014 you should be fine. Don't forget a lot of what you read is just re-posted posts of what someone read. If you were to track down those who first hand experienced failures.....things may appear quite different. I had a pre 2012 model and rode is hard in Ozzy hardwood for a couple of years before passing it on & never had crank issues. Now I have 2014 models. Solo had been building saws and other opee for many decades in west Germany.....they know how to build a pro saw. Buy one while you can, no other 80cc saw on the market will touch it in stock form, its power to weight ratio was top dog for years.

 

[Andyshine77]

A couple well known builders I've spoken with in person had the cranks go out of faze, on saws that had a lot of compression and were making a lot of power over stock. I don't believe these saws had the same issues stock.

Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk

 

[OsageOrange]

Thank you, CR888 and Andyshine77, for your informative responses. I was unaware of the fact that the failures occurred on souped-up saws. Based upon your replies, I went ahead and purchased the saw.

 

[ncfarmboy]

You will not believe it, awesome saw!
Shep

 

[CR888]

There theres a few guys the hop them right up with little NOS bottles atached to the handle and they certainly cut a cookie fast. But that is putting the bottom end into a situation the engineers never intended it to go.

 

[OsageOrange]

There theres a few guys the hop them right up with little NOS bottles atached to the handle and they certainly cut a cookie fast. But that is putting the bottom end into a situation the engineers never intended it to go.

Holy moly you were right CR888. The stock 681 is truly a screamer! An incredibly strong 81 cc saw!