I'm thinking about an ES light 25" bar for my 461 and a 28" ES Light for the 661. Currently the 461 has a 20" ES and the 661 has a 25" ES bar. I'm thinking the 25" light on the 461 would give me more versatility and the 28" light on the 661 would "tame the beast" a bit with better ballance. What do you kids think? It's a lot of dough....
I have to ask what you use that 661 for. If it is for milling, then yes you may want a longer bar to go with your mill. Otherwise I don't think I would spend a lot for a new longer bar unless I frequently cut large wood.
I guess it depends on how you generally bucking up logs. I used 2 saws for years as go to's. One limber and one saw for 16" and up. I now have gone to 3 saws generally. 192t with a 14". 028WB with an 18"for middles and a MS660 with a 36" for the larger stuff. Limb out quickly and go from there. I've never really worried about balance because the larger saw is a "log saw" if you will. I would not want to lug around a 660 for an all in one as for me anyway, I'd get tired a lot quicker. If you want a lighter bar then get them. It's not really that much weight savings to me to offset the cost. Finding one on a deal is another story. To me it looks like what you currently have is what would be ideal. Finding a nice small limber would be a wiser investment to me if you don't already have one.
I'm with Kevin. If your carrying a 661 arounD all day as a faller yea it might be worth it but for the difference I'm price and the fact that your bucking big wood with it just setting the saw up in it and letting it cut its way through the log the weight is not a factor at that point. And I too am also a fan of a small saw to use as a limb saw so again a light bar will make so little difference to me at that point . If it were me I would save my money and for a one off big bar just buy a forester bar or what every you get a deal on, Oregon, or what's that other company west coast?? The one that's the guys from Baileys, they have good prices on bars. GB bars???
You could just get a 32 inch bar for the 661. Then like mentioned above go find a good deal on a small saw. Looks like your a stihl guy, a used ms 250 with like a 16 inch bar would complete your arsenal. We all want more saws so this is a great excuse.
If we're just cutting limbs off get a ms170 with a 14" bar. Get a warrenty and out the door less than $200
Ya the ms170 program would be great also. A friend of mine who is a known abuser of ope has a ms170 and it has been a trooper.
Buy the 28" light and put it on the 461. Keep the heavy bars on the 661. Be happy! I have a 28" ES-L on my 441. Saw has no trouble running it (it's been monkey'd with...) and handles quite nicely.
A lot of people like a 25" standard or a 28"light bar for a 461. Unfortunately, I can't say first hand for the 28". I have 20" & 25" standard and 25" & 32" light weight. I think I may have the "bar & chain" strain of CAD.