Well, I got my brand-new 9.9 4-stroke back from the Dealer yesterday. It was in
because it was hard-starting (for a NEW motor), idled rough, and had a "lag" at
about 1/3 throttle. Put it on the boat (12-ft aluminum skiff) and tried it out
on the river.

No change. Seems like they brought the idle speed up a bit. THEY claim it's not
supposed to start cold on idle. *I* claim just about every other brand-new
engine I've ever used does, so why not an outboard? Right now, if you bring the
throttle up a bit (you have to press the "high-idle" button since the shifter is
built-in to the twist-grip throttle), it will start after a few pulls. They also
say there's some kind of over-ride on the choke button, since it doesn't seem to
make any difference: is this right, or is it simply NOT CONNECTED??

Now, with the idle speed up, it idles well in neutral, but shakes the whole boat
when running in fwd at idle (like when trolling...). I'm assuming this isn't
right?

Finally, the "lag" is still there. It's not really noticable if you just crank
the throttle from idle to "planing speed", but if you slowly go up, there's a
place the engine almost stalls before going back up again. Normal? I sure hope
not!

It IS a sweet motor: up on plane, it's quiet and smooth, and seems to have at
least as much power as the old Johnson 15. And NO pollution!

Any suggestions? different dealer? Contact Mercury directly? My wife (who didn't
like me dropping $2800 on THAT new motor 6 mos after spending $10K on a new
motor for Far Cove), wants me to take it back and get my money back. I don't
think that's possible...

Lloyd Sumpter
"Skeeder" Mirrocraft 12