Shift systems that facilitate resilient mounting of an outboard motor with respect to a marine vessel

An outboard motor comprising:

• a mounting assembly for connecting the outboard motor to a marine vessel;
• a powerhead;
• a transmission that transmits power from the powerhead to a propulsor configured to impart thrust on a body of water in which the outboard motor is operated;
• a shift shaft that extends from the powerhead to the transmission via a conduit in the mounting assembly, the conduit having forward and aftward sides relative to the mounting assembly,
• wherein the shift shaft is positionable into a forward position in which the transmission is engaged in forward gear, reverse position in which the transmission is engaged in reverse gear, and a neutral position in which the transmission is in neutral gear;
• a shift actuator that is operable by a user of the outboard motor, the shift actuator being configured to move the shift shaft into and out of the forward, reverse and neutral positions;
• and
• a resilient mount that couples the powerhead to the mounting assembly and facilitates the fore-aft movement of the powerhead and shift shaft with respect to the mounting assembly;
• wherein in the forward position an upper end of the shift shaft is positioned closer to the forward side of the conduit than the aftward side of the conduit, in the reverse position the upper end of the shift shaft is positioned closer to the aftward side of the conduit than the forward side of the conduit, and in the neutral position the upper end of the shift shaft is positioned between the forward and reverse positions, thus facilitating fore-aft movement of the powerhead and shift shaft with respect to the mounting assembly.