I've had my YC61 for just over a year, and it gets played most days....
• Are the keys noisy? ..yes, the black ones are.
• Have they gotten worse over time? - no, not so far.

Unlike my MOX6 keyboard - where the keys are fitted as plastic moulded 'strips' of several keys each, which have no 'lateral' movement at all - the YC61 keys all seem to be individual, and each key has some lateral movement.
They feel more substantial -- which is reassuring with 'palm smear' type movements.

It's just that the accidentals (the black keys) are noisy with any lateral movement .. you can hear each key 'click' as it strikes the side limits of the associated key 'guide'.
The white keys seem to have less lateral movement, and are much quieter.

In practice of course, lateral movement of the black keys doesn't really happen often when you're actually playing ... so it's not really a problem.
I have read that some folk have noticed increased noise from white keys over time ... but that may perhaps be with some demo units that have been passed around and taken a 'hammering'?... I haven't noticed any change in key noise over time on my unit.

I like my YC61 keybed..... I like the 'feel', and I'm happy with Yamaha's 159mm octave sizing....(not everyone likes that)

It's just the rotary sim I don't like (along with many other folk, it would seem? 🙂 )

Thanks Roger, your comments are somewhat reassuring.
Do you play mostly synths and organs on the YC61 or piano parts in equal manner?

I use both organ and piano voices .. probably in about equal measure, I would guess....

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Finally got the chance to try the YC61. Good sounds and overall build quality, but I'm sorry, the keybed is not on par with the rest. The black keys are definitely noisy. Some of the white keys were noiser than the others. I know it was a demo unit, but the YC61 came out only about 8 months ago, and given the pandemic I strongly doubt the unit I tested took any hammering. The feeling was that of a cheap keybed, even compared to an average midi controller. Not to mention if compared to the waterfall keys of the Legend Solo that was sitting besides. It is unfortunate that Yamaha took a shortcut on the keybed. Hopefully there will be a SE in the future and I may reconsider a purchase. But for now I have to pass.

According to my analysis on my YC61, I'm pretty sure the keyboard uses the same mechanism used on the Motif XS6 / XF6 / Montage 6 (FSX keybed), except that the keys have been adapted to the waterfall format. They even have that metal weight under each key. I found the keys on the YC61 to be very good and playable, much better than the ones on the Nord Electro 3 - 61 (Fatar).

Yes, John, I agree with Julio... actions are subjective, but I think the YC61 has one of the best feeling semi-weighted actions you can get. I haven't played the Legend Solo, but my understanding is that it uses a pretty heavily sprung Fatar TP/8O, similar to what's in the semi-weighted Nord Electro and Stage models, the Dexibell J7 Combo, for example... and I think the YC61 feels better than that, it doesn't push back so much against your fingers like those do. I also find it to be better than those for cibtrolling piano dynamics. (Though I could quibble about the organ trigger points.)

The feeling given by a keybed is highly subjective. But there are also objective elements. I respectfully disagree with the gentleman that compared the YC61's keybed to the FSX. I own a Montage 6 and the two keybeds are like day and night.
I also played the Nord Electro 6 and the legend solo and I liked both of them.
Also, I wanted to personally try the YC61 to get a first hand idea after hearing a number of complaints on Facebook groups, and by YouTubers.
And yes, my opinion is that the complaints are not by naysayers or frustrated people. There is a truth behind them. That said, to each his own.

I agree with the comment that the YC61 keybed feels very different from the FSX keybed.

I like the YC61 keybed. I do find the noisy black keys slightly irritating, but not a deal breaker.
And - on my instrument anyway - the noise hasn't got any worse over the last 15 months or so.
All my white keys are much quieter, and again, don't appear to have 'worn' in any way.

I find the keybed very playable - especially from an organ point of view - and one can perform things like 'palm smears' with confidence. That's not something I would like to chance with my MOX keybed with any real confidence over time.

I did try out a Nord waterfall keybed at one time, but I'm not a fan of Fatar key beds in general, and found it significantly less comfortable than my YC61.

I haven't had the chance to try a the YC73 or 88, but I do have to say that using my P.105 GHS weighted keybed as an external keyboard for the YC61 organ voices is a very odd experience -- Weighted keys and organ playing are not comfortable bedfellows in my opinion !!
Quite why Yamaha didn't use a waterfall keybed - for the YC73 at least - I find a very odd decision for an organ orientated keyboard?

Some folk don't like Yamaha's decision to make their synth keybeds - and the YC61 waterfall keybed - 159mm octaves, rather than the 164mm of many competitors - and indeed their own weighted keybeds. I have no problem with the smaller keys - in fact I think I probably prefer them for organ and synth - and quite usable for piano.

We all have different preferences. I think the FSX is the nicest synth keybed I've tried - but I think I prefer the YC61 for organ playing.

I don't know quite why Yamaha have decided on a large(ish) degree of lateral movement for their black keys on the YC61 - I'm sure they have their reasons? - but it does seem make the keys that much more noisy than the would otherwise be.
I would take the unit apart and take a look, but it looks like there are dozens of screws, all needing the correct 'pin torque' or 'allen key' to undo them, so I think I'll give that a miss at present!

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I used to have the YC61 and all organ keys (if you've never played an organ) are like toy keys.

It's a strange feeling to behold a 2K board with toy like keys but all organs are like this because of the way organs are played.

I used to repair the AN1X line and that was really odd how those keys pressed on a strip.

It was funny because to make it like brand new again all I did was slide the strip either way by a fraction and those contacts were brand new again.

I buy them for nothing and sell them like new again. There's a science to "cheap" keys but my YC73 is 100 times better feeling.

It's not an organ type but I don't need it. I do have it on my SKpro. I'll have to pay more attention to see if they are noisy.

The size of the YC61 for what you were getting was great and I'm sure organ players hate that Yamaha didn't use those keys on the YC73.

I might be one of a few that prefer the keys it has. They should have made both versions with the option in the YC73 but that would be a production deviation.