Let me share a SECRET with you ....

jonolau

jonolau

Legend
Here are pictures of my latest acquisition - a Yamaha Secret 05 RS.

Specs as far as I know:

Headsize: 100 sq in
Length: 27 in
Unstrung weight: 336gm (11.8oz)
Strung weight: 350gm (12.3oz)
Balance: About 9 pts HL
Recommended tension: 50-60
Construction material: Unknown
Stiffness: Unknown
Year of manufacture: circa 1992
Country of manufacture: Singapore

Secret1.jpg

Secret2.jpg

Secret4.jpg


If anyone has more details it would be much appreciated.
 
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jonolau

jonolau

Legend
Does anyone know about the history or other specs of this racquet?

I've only been able to find information about the Secret 04 and 06, but there is nothing about the 05.
 
ibringtheHEAT

ibringtheHEAT

Semi-Pro
I don't know much about it, but it sure looks cool.

I'll use my google'ing skills, and try and get you some info.

Still, great find. Tell us how it hits.
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
ibringtheHEAT said:
I don't know much about it, but it sure looks cool.

I'll use my google'ing skills, and try and get you some info.

Still, great find. Tell us how it hits.
Click to expand...

Much appreciated, my fellow MF3 member!

Either my Googling skills are horrid, I lack patience, or my eyesight is bad ... ;)
 
ibringtheHEAT

ibringtheHEAT

Semi-Pro
All the racquets on that line are graphite/kevlar concoctions. As to the stiffness, they are supposed to be very stiff so I'd guess within the 70's.......

I can't find any exact stats tho.

Hope this helps.
 
logansc

logansc

Professional
Yeah it seems like it would very similar to a Wilson PS which ever model, not quite as heavy though. Take it out and let me know how it is...never heard of Yamaha making tennis racquets...
 
ibringtheHEAT

ibringtheHEAT

Semi-Pro
Like I said, this was a while back......the early 90's. I think they have a few more recent ones, but they are........well not up to par. The older ones play similar to the POG from what I've heard.
 
N

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
Here in the States, the Secret 04 was popular for a while, but from Yamaha, the most popular frame in the States by far was the YFG30 Fiberglass.
The Secret04 was a constant wide bodied beam..a very interesting gun metal gray mottled finish..was quite heavy and quite stiff and quite powerful and needed to be strung tightly, which was fairly typical of racquets back then
Cant say I've ever heard of the Secret 05..was perhaps a non US frame
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
NoBadMojo said:
Here in the States, the Secret 04 was popular for a while, but from Yamaha, the most popular frame in the States by far was the YFG30 Fiberglass.
The Secret04 was a constant wide bodied beam..a very interesting gun metal gray mottled finish..was quite heavy and quite stiff and quite powerful and needed to be strung tightly, which was fairly typical of racquets back then
Cant say I've ever heard of the Secret 05..was perhaps a non US frame
Click to expand...

Thanks, sifu! Yes, apparently it's quite a stiff racquet. I'm intending to string a poly hybrid in the lower band of the recommended tensions.

Will be taking it out for a test rally later on and will report the findings ...
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
Redflea said:
Jonolau...did you hit with it yet?

Looks nice...we have a Yamaha piano, wanna play together? :)
Click to expand...

Tell you what, let's play motorised tennis music. I will hop onto a Yamaha scooter and wield the racquet. But I think it'll be a bit of a challenge for you to balance the piano on your lap whilst straddling a 2 wheeler ... ;)
 
B

BodegaBay

Rookie
This really brings out the memories. Talk about old school.

When the first wide-body came out, the Wilson Profile, it created a craze. Guys on my high school tennis team who have been playing with Wilson Prostaff 85, Head Pro Comps/Tours, and Prince Oversize 110 were making switches to the Profiles. I couldn't stand the Profile -- an oversized monstrosity, a fat one at that. I waited for a year then bought the Yamaha Secret04. As NoBadMojo said, it's exactly like above but with gun metal gray finely textured finished.

Loved the flat beam, loved the finish, loved the color. But it was 100% STIFF. As in like hitting with a wall (not to a wall, WITH a wall). It was powerful as hell with ZERO flex. No touch whatsoever. I played with it maybe 5-6x in 1988-1991 then kept it in storage until 2005 when I put it on e-B-ay along with the Wilson ProStaff Classic 95 and Wilson ProStaff Hyper Carbon. By the way, I do recall Yamaha followed up with a Secret05 since the 04 was way too stiff.

Don't laugh. Yamaha made some pretty highly rated racquets in the late 80's early 90's. Tennis magazine rated some of them up there. I lost touch with Tennis by 1995 and haven't followed up why Yamaha exited tennis equipment.

I think I have a picture somewhere of my Secret04.
 
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jonolau

jonolau

Legend
BodegaBay said:
This really brings out the memories. Talk about old school.

When the first wide-body came out, the Wilson Profile, it created a craze. Guys on my high school tennis team who have been playing with Wilson Prostaff 85, Head Pro Comps/Tours, and Prince Oversize 110 were making switches to the Profiles. I couldn't stand the Profile -- an oversized monstrosity, a fat one at that. I waited for couple of years and then bought the Yamaha Secret04. As NoBadMojo said, it's exactly like above but with gun metal gray finely textured finished.

Loved the flat beam, loved the finish, loved the color. But it was 100% STIFF. As in like hitting with a wall (not to a wall, WITH a wall). It was powerful as hell with ZERO flex. No touch whatsoever. I played with it maybe 5-6x in 1991 then kept it in storage until 2005 when I put it on e B a y along with the Wilson ProStaff Classic 95 and Wilson ProStaff Hyper Carbon Stretch (or something like that -- a real forgettable racquet). By the way, I do recall Yamaha followed up with a Secret05 since the 04 was way too stiff.

Don't laugh. Yamaha made some pretty highly rated racquets in the late 80's early 90's. Tennis magazine rated some of them on up there. I think by 1995 Yamaha exited Tennis.

I think I have a picture somewhere of my Secret04.
Click to expand...

WOW! Thanks for sharing this information.

I must say that the 04 looks highly impressive in the pictures and it must have been even more impressive to hold it in the hand.

Any idea what was it that made this racquet so stiff?

I also managed to find some 04 and 06s for sale on a US site (email me jlau3 @ hotmail.com if you can to know the name of the site), and if I can recall correctly, they were being listed for sale at US$350 and above.
 
B

BodegaBay

Rookie
If I recalled, it was made of High Modulus Graphite. People are selling them for $300+? Grrrr. I sold those three racquest on e-B-a-y for total of $75! And the Yamaha was pristine too! Grrr.

Here are the specs from 1988 Tennis Magazine. READ THE STIFFNESS RATING!

-------------------------------------------
Head Size:
100 in2 / 645 cm2

Length:
27 in / 686 mm

Unstrung Weight:
12.3 oz / 350 g

Unstrung Balance:
6 pts HL / 315 mm

Composition:
High Modulus Graphite / Hi-Resonant Frame Design

Beam Width:
25 mm Straight Beam

Power Level:
Medium – High

Stiffness:
81 (Very Firm)

Swing Type:
Moderate - Fast

Swing Weight:
327

String Pattern:
16 mains / 18 crosses

Grip Type:
Yamaha synthetic grip

String Tension:
50 - 60 lbs / 22.7 – 27.2 kg recommended


Tennis Magazine decimal rating system from 1989
playability profile (1 – min / 5 – max)

Stiffness: 5.0
Maneuverability: 4.3
Ball Control: 4.5
Vibration Damping: 4.5
-------------------------------------------
 
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H

hadoken

Semi-Pro
the Secret 04 is legendary among those who picked up tennis during the widebody boom because it was one of the priciest, most powerful and meanest looking frames on the market. I would say it, the Profile, and Prince's Thunderstick defined big widebody power in the late 80's.
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
Hi BodegaBay,

Sorry for releasing those prices. Whether people bought it at those prices or not, I'm not sure.

But thanks for sharing the article.

Jon
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
Do pardon my ignorance. I'm reading of references to the term "widebody". What exactly defines widebody?

Are you referring to beam thickness?
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
Yamaha Secret EX110

I just found out that Gabriela Sabatini used to play with the Yamaha Secret EX 110.

It gets more intriguing as the thread progresses ...
 
T

thomas martinez

Professional
Ok, the Secret 05 replaced the 06 in the Yamaha line. I can't exactly recall the composition of the frame, but it was one of the best Secrets. Kicked the 06 right up the butt, and was almost as good as the EX and 04. They came out with it just before they were forced out of the US market because of Wilson claiming they were infringing upon their Hammer patenet, but their EOS made it to market first. One of the best things about Yamahas, they were so well designed that even though they were stiff as hell in the case of the 04, there was barely any vibration. The fact they weighed so much helped as well. Locally, they were crazy popular for some reason. Even more so when the EOS line came out. A bad thing abou thtem, that they would literally melt. Usually if you left it in the car for 30 min or so it would happen, but even if you spent a full day on the courts with some in your bag, they would melt. Yamaha was AWESOME though about replacing them. Never saw one turned down for a warranty claim when that happened. Shame they were forced out by Wilson, and then pretty much gave up on the whole racket thing. They were seriously that good. Many 06 and 05 users when Yamaha went bye bye picked up Wilson 6.1s as replacements, even the Women since the stiffness, weight and balance was close as was the composition.
 
007

007

Professional
didn't GOSEN re-brand the SECRETS when Yamaha dropped the US market in that late 1990's?
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
I've strung up my Secret 05 with Gosen Polylon SP on the mains and Babolat Super Fine Play on the crosses at 53/55 and it was a blast out on the court!

This is just as much as I can say for the moment ... I really need to compose my thoughts and post a deeper review later .... it was just an overwhelming experience that is undescribable. Just amazing.
 
F

fielders_80

Semi-Pro
I remember the Secret 04, a friend of mine used to play with it. I tried it briefly but cant remember how it felt. All i remember was the tension on his racquet was pretty high and i do not like high tension sticks so i put it down after a few minutes. But i do remember that the finishing was super awesome. One of a kind.

Hey Jon, those sticks are made in Singapore!! Maybe you can find the old equipments so you can start making your own "Jonolau's Secret" tennis racquet (it will compete with Victoria's secret)
 
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anirut

anirut

Legend
Jon, that's a nice looking stick! Wish could find one like that.

I used to play with my ex GF's some Yamaha ceramic in the college days. It was nice.

fielders_80 said:
Hey Jon, those sticks are made in Singapore!! Maybe you can find the old equipments so you can start making your own "Jonolau's Secret" tennis racquet (it will compete with Victoria's secret)
Click to expand...

As per fielders' comment, may be to "be in line" with Victoria's Secret, you can come with some pink designs or take some idea from Wilson's W-Line.

How about laced black grip? HAHA.
 
PBODY99

PBODY99

Legend
007 said:
didn't GOSEN re-brand the SECRETS when Yamaha dropped the US market in that late 1990's?
Click to expand...
Yes they did for a few years. The Yamaha frames were some of the nicest frames made in the Fiberglass to graphite era. One player is still using his EX fro his twice a year tournament forays. I still hit with my gold 90 when I want that old school feel.
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
PBODY99 said:
Yes they did for a few years. The Yamaha frames were some of the nicest frames made in the Fiberglass to graphite era. One player is still using his EX fro his twice a year tournament forays. I still hit with my gold 90 when I want that old school feel.
Click to expand...
This is interesting, so why did Gosen bow out of the racquet market?
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
anirut said:
Jon, that's a nice looking stick! Wish could find one like that.

I used to play with my ex GF's some Yamaha ceramic in the college days. It was nice.



As per fielders' comment, may be to "be in line" with Victoria's Secret, you can come with some pink designs or take some idea from Wilson's W-Line.

How about laced black grip? HAHA.
Click to expand...

Thanks, it was a gem of a find. However, I'm not too sure about the laced grip though ... ;)
 
D

Deleted member 6835

Guest
oh i thought you were going to announce you coming out of the closet...


:D:D
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
I had a session with the Secret 05 and it really played liked a dream!

Everything was clued in and there was something special about the frame that I'v not felt with others. However, the M-Fil 300 does come quite close.

Though the frame is supposed to have high stiffness and I was rather skeptical about its comfrort level, there seemed to be a good amount of dampening without taking away control or power. I would say that it feels like I was playing with a precision implement constructed out of surgical steel!

Serves were precise and in control with any sacrifice on directional contol or feeling mushy.

Groundstrokes were fantastic. When I took big cuts at the ball, it felt as if all the power in my stroke were transerred directly from the frame with no loss in power. I could also hook the racquet very easily to hammer wide angle returns.

Volleys were where this frame excelled. Touch volleys were precise and excuted very clinically. Very rarely did my balls go long, wide or out of control. It just seemed to be hefty and firm enough to take the ball off an incoming ball to just kill it.

Overall, it might just be my holy grail ... now if I only could find another stick!
 
B

BodegaBay

Rookie
As I recalled the Secret-05 was Yamaha's response to improved playability vs. the previous ultra-stiff Secret-04. Nice to see you've found a good compromise.
 
W

wksoh

Semi-Pro
I recall watching Yannick Noah debut the Yamaha Secret 04 (he was using Le Coq prior to this I think - the Chicken Brand).

He beat Lendl in the tournament final pretty convincing with the Secret 04.

Some of my friends managed to get hold of it after that. I bought a Secret 06 too - but I think it had too much flex cmpared to the 04. Sadly Yannick Noah was not really able to reproduce the performance.
 
VikingSamurai

VikingSamurai

Banned
jonolau, I don't know much about this frame, but I do have a Yamaha Proto with similar graphics to this frame, and a mint brand new (plastic still on handle) Yamaha "alpha" 90 if you are interested in them?
 
jonolau

jonolau

Legend
chris_in_japan said:
jonolau, I don't know much about this frame, but I do have a Yamaha Proto with similar graphics to this frame, and a mint brand new (plastic still on handle) Yamaha "alpha" 90 if you are interested in them?
Click to expand...

Can you post some pics? I will have a think about it, but first will have to offload some racquets as I'm running out of storage space and my wife is running out of patience ... ;)
 
PBODY99

PBODY99

Legend
jonolau said:
This is interesting, so why did Gosen bow out of the racquet market?
Click to expand...

The same trouble many of the former racket companies face, lack of sales. The frames were solid, and people played with them for several seasons with out needing to buy another.
With no one to really drive sales it wasn't a frame that you were going to move a lot of units.
In the Delaware Valley I didn't notice any of the dozen or so players who I strung for ever have an problem with the frames failing due to heat.
The Yamaha EOS { efficiency of swing } was one of the best light weight frames of its time at around 10 oz.
 
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