Something old to talk about : YYJ Speedmaker

Recently I just got myself a YYJ Speedmaker as a part of my Hiroyuki’s signature series collection before I got my YYF Protostar neon. Well, frankly speaking, I prefer YYF Protostar since it is really the “plastic beast” ! It plays just like a metal yoyo !

After some days hanging out with Protostar, I turned back to Speedmaker and found something totally different…

Here’s the basic characteristics of YYJ Speedmaker :

Material : Celcon Plastic
Diameter : 55.23 mm
Width : 36.47 mm
Weight : 61.5g
Bearing : YYJ C size
Style : 1A(as always)

Judging from the basics of Speedmaker, in 2012 its probably a beginner category yo-yo since there are too much metal rimmed yoyos out there to compete with.

However, if you take a closer look. Speedmaker shares the same characteristics of Speeder/Speeder 2. Its shape, size etc. So, basically it can PLAY just like the Speeder but with lower performance of course.

It comes with a YYJ C size bearing and a hybrid response. WOW ! Hybrid, that’s gonna be something fishy in there. Moreover, it has adjustable gap which means one could switch it from responsive to unresponsive play. But that’s not the real highlight of the yoyo and may be disadvantageous at certain circumstances.

The real show is when your strong throw skill got better and you PLAY with Speedmaker.

After some strong throw training with my heavy Protostar, I found that when using the same throw on my lighter Speedmaker, WOW ! The result was jaw-dropping. Clean, smooth and floaty. That’s what made the Speedmaker one of Mickey’s signature yoyos. Immediately I try it out on my newly learned Rewind and McBride Roller Coaster (I’m at advance part 1 level, to be honest, in 3 weeks of time). This YOYO just CUT through the air like NOTHING ! Smooth landing on the string and I can add more speed to my play. Really impressive for a yoyo which had released many years ago. With a strong throw, Speedmaker could easily spin well to complete combos too. Fun to play with, but not that competitive in modern days in my opinion though Mickey did used it to win several championships during those days.

That’s about the throw and feel of the yoyo. I can’t go deeper to skills since I’m not that pro enough.

Now about the cons. Hybrid response is good, but not that good enough. Speedmaker easily tilts due to lack of stability and weight. That’s why the better you go, you won’t feel the tilting too much. The response has O-RING on one side and a starburst on the other. Basically the O-RING helps you to bind the yoyo back/plays responsively and the starbursts just act as a sidekick in my opinion because 2 O-RINGS will made it too responsive while 2 starbursts will made it hard to bind. You could see it from the diagram view on the gap. When the yoyo tilts, that’s where this yoyo got so frustrating. If the string touches the starbursts side, you are safe, just bind it back. On the O-RING side, you could feel extreme tension on the string and the yoyo DECELERATES very fast. For those who want to use Speedmaker to learn tricks, that’s gotta be the bad news since it tilts easily.

The gap adjusting, well, in my opinion, Kitty String Slim will handle the job. but with a normal polyster and a cotton string, that’s not gonna shine much. There’s one way though , to make it dead unresponsive, it to replace the O-RING with slim response pads. You don’t wanna silicone down the starbursts as it will affect your binds later one. We are not yoyo makers after all. In addition, if you adjust the gap too much, your strings would get stuck into the axel and you need to open the caps often to remove the string and put it back again. Replace the stock bearing with a Center Trac Bearing will get the job done a little.

In a nutshell :

Pros : Light, smooth, cheap price, good for speed play and more advanced players as well as beginners, not advisable for intermediate to fresh advance player (in my opinion), good for those who wants to learn mods too :wink:

Cons: Tilts easily, not stable, may get too floaty, quite a narrow gap, need some mods to make it fully durable for high-end performances (in my opinion)

Well, if you feel like having fun with plastics, get the YYJ Speedmaker though it is a little old :wink:
Hiroyuki’s signature yoyos are definitely something to try out (p/s: he is World Champion and Guinness World Record holder LOL)



Great review and impressions.

I may like the “high dollar stuff”, but there’s a lot to be said about inexpensive plastics, including many sub-$20 models. The SpeedMaker is one of these models. Honestly, the SpeedMaker, Kickside and Lyn Fury I feel are amazing must haves.

Anything that’s fun and enjoyable for me to play, I want. And the SpeedMaker was a fantastic little item I’m very happy with. No yoyo snobbery for me!

Just throw in a pair of red yyj spacers. The SpeedMaker is amazing.

You can buy another one and take two o-ring halves, it’s worth it.
But just silicone-ing one side already makes it awesome.
The nice thing about the Speedmaker is that, while light, it has a large proportion of rim weight. That’s why it gives the feel of “cutting through the air” because of its relative stability compared to the overall weight.

I simply cleaned out the bearing in my SpeedMaker and it became an entirely new yoyo. I did the same thing with my Kickside and Lyn Fury. I have spacers but after cleaning the bearing out, I have no need for the spacers so now they are just more parts in my box of parts. Hey, better to be prepared!

Hmm, my situation was quite different from yours. My bearing came unresponsive, but the gap was too narrow for speed combos, especially with starburst on one side. With red spacers, it plays like a dream. I actually like it a lot better than my Lyn Fury, because of the proportion of rim weight. IMO the Speed Maker plays the best out of the YYJ celcon trio (KS, LF, SPM), followed by the Lyn Fury.

The Lyn Fury simply needs silicone and bearing cleaning, because it already comes stock with a wide gap. I just wish it had a little less center weight…

The Kickside’s shape is not at all good for horizontal, while the Speed Maker excels at it; has just the right about of control to maintain stability and momentum.