Tillers for outboard motors having neutral shift interlock mechanism

An outboard motor comprising:

• a transmission that is operable in a forward gear, a reverse gear, and a neutral gear;
• an internal combustion engine having a throttle that is positionable into and between an idle position and an open throttle position;
• and
• a tiller comprising:
• a manually operable shift mechanism that is configured to actuate shift changes in the transmission amongst the forward gear, reverse gear, and neutral gear;
• a manually operable throttle mechanism that is configured to position the throttle into and between the idle position and the open throttle position;
• and
• an interlock mechanism that is configured to prevent a shift change in the transmission from the neutral gear into at least one of the forward gear and the reverse gear when the throttle is positioned in a predetermined non-idle position, wherein the interlock mechanism is further configured to permit a shift change into the neutral gear regardless of throttle position.