In the original patent application (1936) There was a three piece drive shaft consisting of a long tube with a spring coiled inside connected to the crankshaft. Inside the spring was the driveshaft plugged into the pinion gear. The bottom of that spring was pinned to the inside shaft. The coiling of the spring around the inner shaft was supposed to absorb the shock of shifting and extend the life of the mechanism. The clearances allowed this to happen in about one or two revolutions. 1000 hour testing in salt water seemed to prove the rubber clutch on the Lightfour prop was a good shock absorber, as the spring was rusted up tight. So Johnson put it on there QD model in 1949 with a one piece drive shaft. It was found that the greatest damage was done to tho dog clutch by trying the “ease it” into gear. There is about 30 degrees of “free space” for the clutch to move into engagement. This gives you milliseconds to move the shift lever. They origanally said to adjust the idea for the smoothest opperation. you will find as you turn the idea needle valve in (leaning the mixture) the engine will increase until the outboard sneezes and stops. Know also shifting into neutral speeds up the motor and will lean out the mix causing a “sneeze” . Mixture setting and idle RPM vary with the engine. It seems like you have a good handle on what the speed should be. On later models where an individual service manual is available, an idle RPM recommendation is given in the carburetor section, For example, the figure given for the 1968 85 horse Evinrude is 700 to 750 RPM. It has a very dependable electric shift. . . [/color]
