I am very sorry. I didn't think anybody was interested. Of course I want to share what I did. First of all my unit does NOT have the Allen set screw on the bottom of the handle as Nola Mike mentioned. After googling my butt off to see if I could find a youtube clip dealing with the removal, with no success, I came across a diagram of a unit close enough but having the same parts as mine that needed to be removed in order to get the handle and front bezel off of the side panel. I found out the hard way by destroying the throttle button, thinking it would pop right off like it's been said it should, but it didn't. Instead it broke. However good news is there are still plenty available for around 4 bucks, so no harm done, thank God. I got 2 on order (1 spare) right now see #5 on diagram. Now I could look inside and see the nut (#6 on diagram) that needed to be undone to remove the handle. A 17 mm deep socket took care of that and after that everything came apart just smoothly and without any problems. Now I just had to undo the bolts holding the bezel and the control box in place and I could remove the side panel without any further problems. Btw., after I removed the control box it had a beautiful part number on it. This is the unit that is in my 1988 Sylvan bow rider for those who like to know. Mercury #858690A3
