Picture of the head all scratched up and not the same as the newer Yonex heads. This racket was hand strung and the original strings broke. I had the racket restrung but these strings (Hy Sheep) are more that 25 years old. Ron
The other side of the cone with the words "Yoneyama racket" in cheap stick-on decal. Yoneyama was a cheap racket manufacturer than and the 8000 was a cheaper version of Carlton, the original metal frame racket designer. There is a cheap decorative ribbon on the racket separating the wood from the top plastic cone.
The end was not a plastic cap unlike all Yonex, but was a plastic/cloth wrap cover like all rackets of that era. This is the last picture of the Yoneyama 8000. I still have a few more Cab 8 pictures. Ron
Two of my Cab 8s were recently restrung with BG 66 and BG 65. The one shown has BG 65. Here is the plastic cone. This is the last pic I took with my camcorder. Ron
i found my long lost yonex's mini catalog of racquets from the transition era, i think in the mid 1980's. Too bad i didn't keep good care of how i stored it, there is a tear on the first page
Yup, I remember the Yonex B8300 or Cab 7. I looked at both the Cab (B8300) and the Cab 3 (B9300) and bought the Cab 7. I think I got in in 1978 or 79. I was using a Carlton 3.7X before the Yonex Cab7. One player in my club still uses the Calrton 3.7X, another well known racket. I no longer wanted to use wood frame rackets as they were too heavy. Actually, the Cab 3 and Cab 7 came out after Yoneyama had changed to Yonex. The Cab 3 and Cab 7 were when Yonex had innovative R&D and began to conquer the world. The Cab 8 was the racket that did the trick and it was one of the best selling (if not the best selling) racket of all time. I broke my Cab 7 in 1988 or thereabouts. I got my Cab 8s in 86 and 88, and my Cab 20 about 86. Ron
wow, u r right ronk, i was guessing on the date of cab3 and 7 as my first racket was a cab20 bought from HK. I never thought cab3&7 were made that early. I didn't see any top end yy racket in canada in those days. The chronological of your early racquets were helpful. I later bought two early version of CD cab 8 from a sport store closeout sale but sold one of them.
I would have posted this earlier but couldn't remember the site URL. Finally found it. This one has pics. of some old Yonex racquets. http://www.mahoroba.ne.jp/~toshiaki/racket.html Oh, I was given an oldie racquet to string (in almost mint condition). A Yonex B-1200SI with alum. frame, external T-joint and graphite shaft with the words "CHOICE OF CHAMPIONS" printed. The YY logo on the end cap is white and raised with the familiar green background.
The rackets in the link are Yonex and not Yoneyama. Yoneyama rackets are even older than Yonex, that is, Yonex was Yoneyama before Yoneyama became Yonex -- convoluted eh! . I played a few minutes with my Yoneyama 8000 yesterday. It is playable but the balance isn't great -- a bit head heavy and the racket was heavy. I am getting too used to 2U and 3U. Also, the strings are very old and sort of too bouncy. The racket lacks power given the steel shaft instead of the MP Ultimum shaft or the Gossen Gravun shaft that I usually use. Even my ancient Cab 8 seems to have more power but then again the strings on my Yoneyama 8000 are ancient and somewhat dead. The 8000 is not a bad racket but probably plays like a modern Yonex B450 or so. Anyway these heavy rackets hurt my wrist. Ron
I've seen a wooden racket used at a club about eight years ago. Has anyone a more recent sighting of one of these prehistoric relics?
Hey, the wood rackets are great stuff. When I first started playing badminton, I had a good wood racket and it was a Silver Grey. There were two good brands then, Silver Grey or Dunlop. The Japanese brands like Kawasaki and Yoneyama (Yoneyama was just coming out) were cheaper and inferior to Silver Grey and Dunlop. Both Silver Grey and Dunlop were made in England, and Silver Grey was slightly more expensive than Dunlop. I vaguely remember Silver Grey to be a bit lighter (something like 135 gms versus 140 gms). Some of the Dunlops were even over 5 oz or 140 gms. I suspect that my Yoneyama 8000 was a 2 L or 1 L racket and it was lighter than the Yoneyama 7000 or the Carlton 4.3 (4.3 oz). Anyway some of the greatest badminton player cut their teeth and won many championships with the wooden rackets. We are now spoilt brats with the 4 and 5 U frames. Ron
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