I have had my Motif 8 for about 5 years. It’s always been well protected and NEVER had anything spilled on or near it. Is this a common problem or something or routine maintenance?

Re: Anyone have a issue with sticking keys on Motif 8?

Yes.  I own a classic Motif 8 that I purchased new in 2002.  Two months prior I had purchased one for our church.

About a year ago, both started exhibiting sticking key problems.  SInce they were out of warranty, I opened the case to take a look.  Seems the back corner of some of the white keys was chipping/cracking and causing the keys to not sit properly and stick. 

Now, I’m not a hard player.  I called Yamaha and bought 3 replacement keys for $17 a piece and replaced them on the church unit.  But, other keys started doing the same thing.  I was fortunate to find a full replacement keybed for $125 on eBay (a music store was closing) and installed it and have had no problems since.

On my personal Motif, I decided to call Yamaha and see how much it would cost to replace.  When I explained my problem and indicated that it was out of warranty, they authorized a keybed replacement at no cost to me.  They said they had problems with these units and would rather not have a poorly performing unit in the field. 

I don’t know if they’ll do the same for you, but it’s worth a try.  If not, it’s a $750 repair/replacement cost.

Good luck!
Brad

Re: Anyone have a issue with sticking keys on Motif 8?

You are right in that this is a common problem.  Can cost quite a bit to get fixed by Yamaha. It basically happens when one (or more) of the keys breaks at the base where it’s hinged to the keyboard.  You can also quite easily fix this yourself if you’re not affraid to open up your machine.  If you look at some other posts on this subject in the past you’ll find all instructions you need.  All it takes is a half an hour of your time.  The only thing I found that’s different to what other people have said on this topic so far is that rather than replacing broken keys you can also super-glue them back together.  I’ve done this many times on my keyboard.  I never had a glued key break again.  It seems that the glued keys are better that new ones! 
I hope this helps

Good luck

Re: Anyone have a issue with sticking keys on Motif 8?

This issue has been brought up over the Mo years.  I have posted a few times the importance of getting insurance on your musical equipment.  They have health, life, car, home owners, etc. insurance.  Why not insure things that could be an important source of income for you.  I have all of my equipment insured and when the keys became stuck on my Motif I took it to a Yamaha approved repair shop and my insurance company issued me a check in the amount of the repairs. (I can’t quote the exact price right now).  So the moral of the story: protect your things.  LOL.  Class dismissed.....