Complete Catalog of Yamaha Releases?

ekucheraw

Rookie
Hi all,

I'm trying to complete a collection of the different Yamaha releases over the years but I can't seem to find an exhaustive list of all the different models that were ever sold post the wooden racket phasing out.

So far I've found:

  • Fiberglass YFG 10/20/30/35/50
  • YM500
  • Carbon Graphite 35/45/55/65
  • XAM 4/6/8
  • Ceramic 90/100/110 Bronze
  • Ceramic 90/100/110 Silver
  • Ceramic 90/100/110 Gold
  • 90 SX
  • Proto 02 (Same as Secret 04)
  • Secret/Proto 04
  • Secret 05 (not seen one but heard of their existence)
  • Secret/Proto 06
  • Secret 07 (same as above)
  • Secret/Proto 08
  • Secret/Proto 10
  • Secret/Proto 10 II
  • Secret 12
  • Secret 20
  • Secret 100
  • Secret Pro
  • Secret EX/ 110/ Tour
  • Proto FX BROS
  • EOS
  • EOS ZI
Updated to add:
  • Secret 65
  • Secret 66
  • Secret X
  • Secret Jr.
  • Secret 850
  • Proto FX
  • Proto 3
  • Alpha Admic 97FX/DX/SX
  • EOS RZ
  • EX 110 G (Sabatini 96 Paint)
  • Quatro Beat
  • YCR124
  • YMX 666(!)/444/555
  • Hi-Flex IX/Lite/L/SuperLite/Jr
  • Focus 20/40/70FS
  • Accurace 100
  • Graphite 90/95
  • Gemini 9
  • Secret DX600
  • YFG 45/65/75/95
  • EX/RX (Wood Mono Shaft)
  • EX100/400
  • Resonance EX97S/Ex97S Tour Model
  • MX300
  • Line Magic
  • Pia Lady
  • Proto EX 2
  • Proto LX 110

This is at least all the ones I've stumbled across so if there's any that I've missed or if you have further info on any of these, please chime in down below! Also if this list DOES already exist somewhere please point me in its direction.

Thank you all, and have a wonderful rest of your day!
 
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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
You’re missing some of the later Secret models like:
Secret 65
Secret 66
Secret X (not the EX)
Proto FX
Alpha series 97FX and 97DX

Secret Jr.

pics of them can be seen on the auction site right now.
 
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retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Don’t forget the YCR124 at or near the beginning.

There were indeed a number of various models in the 1980’s and early 1990’s that were asian market specific.

FYI, the Proto 2 was the same as the Secret 04. Oddly, the numbers between these asian and ROW-market models did not correspond.
 

ongbenghui

New User
I do have the following and still hit it from time to time.

EX110 (White)
EX110 Tour (Yellow)
Proto-EX
Proto-F
Proto-03
Secret 10ii
 

LOBALOT

Legend
Yamaha YFG10. The YFG20 which I have was the "Midsize" if you can call it that based on today's standards. The YFG10 was the "regular" head size.

I seem to recall another YFG as there was the red in the throat (YFG20), and then Yellow and I also think I recall white in the throat as well. Either the white or yellow was the YFG10 (I think yellow).

I have pictures of the YFG20 and my Bronze 90 I will dig up and share.

Also, someone a bit ago posted an add from "Tennis Magazine" from a mail order tennis shop that would be a good source for info.
 

ekucheraw

Rookie
You're all legends, this is what makes racket finding so enjoyable to me: discovering all the crazy stuff that fell between the cracks over the years. Original post is now updated with the new finds!
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
You're all legends, this is what makes racket finding so enjoyable to me: discovering all the crazy stuff that fell between the cracks over the years. Original post is now updated with the new finds!
No prob. I’m a huge Yamaha fan myself and love trying to track down info.
And speaking of, I forgot about the 97SX, you can spot that one over on the big auction site right now if you search “Yamaha tennis 97” I also think we might have mislabeled the Admic series as the Alpha series. I know it has a little alpha logo on the frame, however I have never seen any literature refer to the line as the Alpha series after all.

if anyone else has more info feel free to chime in on that one.
 

PBODY99

Legend
@ekucheraw
I want to add YFG the 30; a different mold than the lower numbered frames 5 some graphite added YFG 50 ; even a higher % of graphite in 70 to this line up. My 76 to 1980 frames.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Thought of more, how could we forget the Yamaha Focus or Accurace series?

Pics of the Focus 20, 40, and 70FS(no idea what FS stands for here) show up on the auction site. And the Accurace 100 is up there too.

Also remembered the Yamaha Graphite 90, a plain Jane but solid graphite composite from the late 80s.

5 more for the list!
 
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PBODY99

Legend
Yamaha also released the Ceramic with kevlar in the lay up. series Gold, Silver & Bronze, based on the % of graphite in 90 100 110 head sizes. The 1st year the frames were mainly black, the next year the Gold line was painted white
 

initialize

Hall of Fame
Never hit with a Yamaha. How do they compare both feel and performance wise with other classic and modern frames?
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
The later secrets feel very similar to modern frames in my opinion. Stiff but excellent feel and control. They could probably get away with straight up remaking them, and with a little marketing push they could probably be popular with todays crowd.

What was the weight of those late Secrets? I suppose that's the only difference between the various late 80s / early 90s sticks that look like they could return today, and today's sticks. Similar to the Destinys and the Prince CTSs.
 

tennistiger

Professional
What was the weight of those late Secrets? I suppose that's the only difference between the various late 80s / early 90s sticks that look like they could return today, and today's sticks. Similar to the Destinys and the Prince CTSs.
Most of them were produced with different weights, USL, SL and L.
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
I think rackets around what used to be called USL (325g unstrung) is what we're missing most today, and that's what a lot were in the early 90s. My RQ-180 and Prince Graphite II both weigh about 345g strung and they feel ideal weight to me. I think that weight works great for rackets in the 90-100sqi range.
 

ekucheraw

Rookie
Never hit with a Yamaha. How do they compare both feel and performance wise with other classic and modern frames?
The Secrets are definitely on the stiffer side, but they can be absolute cannons with a good string setup. They're not entirely unlike a Pure Drive to me.

The ceramic 90 series (specifically the Gold) surprised me the most as the stick that I've had the most enjoyable experiences with. Probably not going to blast anyone off the court with it but it's so incredibly smooth and comfortable feeling, feels like a much larger headsize than it is.

Of the many I've hit with I've never felt that they're too heavy or unwieldy, so if you ever get the chance to swing one give it a shot, you may be surprised!
 
The YFG70 was legendary for its whistling sound when you swung fast. I had my YFG50's out last month and I could make them whistle too. I kid you not a couple people asked me if it was a squash racquet since the head was so small.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
The YFG70 was legendary for its whistling sound when you swung fast. I had my YFG50's out last month and I could make them whistle too. I kid you not a couple people asked me if it was a squash racquet since the head was so small.
How does it fare compared to its contemporaries like wood or other very early graphites?
 
I actually like playing with it once in a while. Very unforgiving due to the small head but if you have old school flatter strokes and you hit it in the sweet spot it is really a nice feel. Kind of a hefty swing weight, but keep in mind I played with it when I was 14. These days as you know it is impossible for any adult male to play with a swing weight greater than 330 or your body will explode.:whistle:
 

ekucheraw

Rookie
How does it fare compared to its contemporaries like wood or other very early graphites?
I hit with the YFG 30 as a warmup stick every now and then, has that old school long racket flexy feel when you swing out at the ball, but anything out of the middle you'll notice pretty fast. Definitely more on the wood-feel side of things than the graphite side imo. Hit with it on swingvision the other day and it captured my "oh god that's gross" when I hit too close to the edge, but when you get the sweet spot it can really launch the hell outta the ball. Using it for a while made my RF97 feel like a precision airstrike with the largest sweetspot known to man, so at least there's some transferable data there haha
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I hit with the YFG 30 as a warmup stick every now and then, has that old school long racket flexy feel when you swing out at the ball, but anything out of the middle you'll notice pretty fast. Definitely more on the wood-feel side of things than the graphite side imo. Hit with it on swingvision the other day and it captured my "oh god that's gross" when I hit too close to the edge, but when you get the sweet spot it can really launch the hell outta the ball. Using it for a while made my RF97 feel like a precision airstrike with the largest sweetspot known to man, so at least there's some transferable data there haha
that's certainly a challenge for a flexy warmup stick. My choice would be the Adidas GTM. Heavy, but plows through anything and everything so satisfyingly its hard to put down.
 

East Lions

Rookie
There is also a secret 12

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What a pity Yamaha is out of tennis. So many great and inovvative frames. I currently own 3 Yamahas as they are very hard to find in my country.

IMG-20221001-121550.jpg
IMG-20230228-132021.jpg
IMG-20230127-143148.jpg
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I hit with the YFG 30 as a warmup stick every now and then, has that old school long racket flexy feel when you swing out at the ball, but anything out of the middle you'll notice pretty fast. Definitely more on the wood-feel side of things than the graphite side imo. Hit with it on swingvision the other day and it captured my "oh god that's gross" when I hit too close to the edge, but when you get the sweet spot it can really launch the hell outta the ball. Using it for a while made my RF97 feel like a precision airstrike with the largest sweetspot known to man, so at least there's some transferable data there haha
Got another for the list that just popped up on the auction site. The oddly named Secret DX 600x. Sounds intriguing, as no other Secret frame has this sort of naming convention. But then you open the listing and its an aluminum 2 piece frame that's likely just a repaint of some stock cheapo frame sold by other manufacturers. BUT, that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve a spot on this official list!

Also spotted there today is the YM500, and the likely Asian exclusive Gemini 9.
 
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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Another likely Europe exclusive Secret has shown up on the Auction site. The Secret 850! Wow sure has come a long way from the Secret 04 lol.

But yeah it’s another metal variant. Oddly on the hoop they put ‘Widebody’ in large print. Most times they didn’t mention that on secret frames. (Personally I’ve never considered the Secret a Widebody racket anyways, I’m sure some will disagree with me on that. I’d say if the Secret 04 is a Widebody, then a ton of other rackets from the 90s-present would have to be considered Widebodies too…)
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
We'll add them to the list!
Another couple on the auction site I don’t see here. And they might be the oldest yet. A true classic mono shaft wood frame called simply: Yamaha EX and RX

No Secret, no anything. Only other text on it says FRP reinforced, probably just Yamahas in house name for the fiber welded throat featured on any number of frames of the era. The seller is based in Australia so that frame might not have made it to the states.
 
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ekucheraw

Rookie
Another couple on the auction site I don’t see here. And they might be the oldest yet. A true classic mono shaft wood frame called simply: Yamaha EX and RX

No Secret, no anything. Only other text on it says FRP reinforced, probably just Yamahas in house name for the fiber welded throat featured on any number of frames of the era. The seller is based in Australia so that frame might not have made it to the states.
Added to the catalog, this has been a very eye-opening and enjoyable venture lol
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
The Bay also shows a Resonance EX 97S that looks like a rather nice midsize. Pretty sure it's not 97sqi, but more like 85-90sqi. Like a compact Secret.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Just noticed the ealry 80’s Carbon Graphite only has the. 45, and 65 listed above.

Right now on the auction site, you can also see a Graphite 35, and 55.

Granted, I don’t know what on earth separates each of these frames, could be fiberglass to graphite content, but that’s only a wild guess. Frankly I also don’t know what the difference between the older YGF Fiberglass frames is either, they all look the same shape to the naked eye.
 

LOBALOT

Legend
Just noticed the ealry 80’s Carbon Graphite only has the. 45, and 65 listed above.

Right now on the auction site, you can also see a Graphite 35, and 55.

Granted, I don’t know what on earth separates each of these frames, could be fiberglass to graphite content, but that’s only a wild guess. Frankly I also don’t know what the difference between the older YGF Fiberglass frames is either, they all look the same shape to the naked eye.

Headsize was the difference on the YFG's. My YFG-20 was considered a "Midsize" vs. the YFG-10 standard size. I tried to figure out the face area on my YFG-20s and believe it is like 89^2 or so and recall as a kid looking at the YFG-10 and it was quite a bit smaller.

Actually when I hit with it as a kid the racquet was unique and a fore-runner of things to come. This was the late 70s and people were either hitting with smaller wood or graphite / composite frames (Head Ashe) or jumbo (for the time) Prince racquets and tucked right between was my YFG-20.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Headsize was the difference on the YFG's. My YFG-20 was considered a "Midsize" vs. the YFG-10 standard size. I tried to figure out the face area on my YFG-20s and believe it is like 89^2 or so and recall as a kid looking at the YFG-10 and it was quite a bit smaller.

Actually when I hit with it as a kid the racquet was unique and a fore-runner of things to come. This was the late 70s and people were either hitting with smaller wood or graphite / composite frames (Head Ashe) or jumbo (for the time) Prince racquets and tucked right between was my YFG-20.
The YFG 30 and 50 appear to be 65sq in or smaller though.
 
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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I think I recall them. Could they be later versions/remakes of the 10/20 that came out a few years later?

When my YFG-20s broke they had moved on to graphite frames.
I don’t know the exact timeline, but John Sadri was using a YFG-30 in 1978 (NCAA finals) and 1979 (Australian Open final).

In the early 80s, he’d changed to the Graphite 45 or 65, not sure which but it’s one of them.
 

LOBALOT

Legend
I don’t know the exact timeline, but John Sadri was using a YFG-30 in 1978 (NCAA finals) and 1979 (Australian Open final).

In the early 80s, he’d changed to the Graphite 45 or 65, not sure which but it’s one of them.

Makes sense then so perhaps that is the case as I started using the YFG-20 in 1977 so perhaps the next year they came out with "improved" new models. I am sure someone out here will know.

In the fall/winter of 1984 I looked for my trusty frame and they were no longer made and they had the Ceramic series out.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Makes sense then so perhaps that is the case as I started using the YFG-20 in 1977 so perhaps the next year they came out with "improved" new models. I am sure someone out here will know.

In the fall/winter of 1984 I looked for my trusty frame and they were no longer made and they had the Ceramic series out.
Well the weird thing is I’ve seen it posted that the YFG 50 is from 1976, so I don’t know if the numbers technically signify a later release.
 
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ekucheraw

Rookie
Well the weird thing is I’ve seen it posted that the YFG 50 is from 1976, so I don’t know if the numbers technically signify a later release.
FWIW Yamaha's own website mentions that the YFG 30 is from 1975, and only mentions that stick alongside the '89 release of the Proto-EX, no love for any of the other frames.
Can see their timeline here
Maybe I'll just shoot a random email at Yamaha corporate and see if they have any insight lol
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
FWIW Yamaha's own website mentions that the YFG 30 is from 1975, and only mentions that stick alongside the '89 release of the Proto-EX, no love for any of the other frames.
Can see their timeline here
Maybe I'll just shoot a random email at Yamaha corporate and see if they have any insight lol
Yeah I’ve seen that page. Pretty sad and lacking honestly.

Also, I’m not positive it’s even accurate. As I can only find info about models like the Secret 04/06 back in 1989. I literally can’t find any info stating the Secret EX came out in 1989 except for that timeline.
 
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