Dolmar 5105 retune, and guide bar

[DOL51CUTIT]

Last year I bought 3 Dolmar 5105 for myself and gifts for a couple friends. They all came with the odd 3/8 17" bar, 64 DL. All 3 saws have been great, and cut just fine with 3/8. I actually thought I would be on here asking questions, but I found what I needed to know just from reading, so didn't do the re post the same thing,,,, thing. I hope a few in the know will chime in on a couple questions.

1st question, I can get the odd ball 17" bars for $68 canuk bucks, or about $50 US. Should we continue on this path, or change now to a more standard 18" or even 16"? We each want a spare bar, and haven't bought them yet. We also have 3 loops of chain each.

2nd question, With warranty coming up on the 2 year limit, I bought 3-5100 mufflers, that are waiting to go on. Right now the saws are slightly on the rich side, but not much. These cat cans are at the end of their lives, because they are slightly rich, and plugging up I'm thinking. Would you keep them slightly rich with the new can, or tune them somewhat more lean? We are not concerned about race mode, but longevity, with strong performance. I know too rich or too lean can shorten life span.

These are easy start with the 13,800 rev limit.

 

[cuinrearview]

I would normally reccomend a different size for a second bar, but going up or down four links isn't going to make much difference. If you have access to chains in 64dl I think personally I'd just stick with that. If you find yourself needing more bar length switching out the Klingon bird of prey spikes to the smaller 5100 spike would be a decent upgrade.

I don't feel that the performance difference between the two mufflers is as great as people say it is. Getting rid of the cat is the big deal. With either muff it will like to be tuned right at the limiter, at least at my elevation they do.

When you guys swap out the stainless mufflers send them my way. I'll remove the cat plate and give them a good home. I could also open up your old style ones if you'd like. The improvement in sluggish throttle response is noticable with either muffler.

 

[DOL51CUTIT]

For our firewood cutting the bar length is fine. These saws have grunt for 50cc, and could take up to 20" easy i think. I'm just thinking that the bar is not a standard that I find for sale just anywhere, so thought maybe switching now might be the answer. I wouldn't go over 18" anyway.
Am I right in thinking that going to the limiter is not too lean, considering they used to rev quite a bit higher before the limiter was in?

 

[DOL51CUTIT]

We are going to mod the old mufflers, and keep them. I bought the 5100 cans because they were cheap.

 

[DOL51CUTIT]

Any recommendations on a good inexpensive tach?

 

[cuinrearview]

For our firewood cutting the bar length is fine. These saws have grunt for 50cc, and could take up to 20" easy i think. I'm just thinking that the bar is not a standard that I find for sale just anywhere, so thought maybe switching now might be the answer. I wouldn't go over 18" anyway.
Am I right in thinking that going to the limiter is not too lean, considering they used to rev quite a bit higher before the limiter was in?

They used to rev higher but a lot of them burned up lol! I keep them close to the limiter.

Any recommendations on a good inexpensive tach?

I have one of the Husqvarna branded Oppama tachs. Not cheap, but it's all I have experience with. Sorry I can't help.