Picked up an 86' 9.9 HT, bit of a cold starter.

[Rancherlee]

Picked up an nice old 86' Yamaha F9.9 HT Electric start off craigslist for 450$ that has good compression, runs good once warmed up a bit, and needs a reseal on the gear case as there is a bit of cloudiness to the gear oil. Only "Issue" it seems to have it that is takes 3-4 cranks to get it running when cold. It fires almost immediately, sputters, then dies the first 2-3 cranks before it stays running. Still does it with new plugs too. The previous owner admitted this too me before I even asked how it runs/starts and I didn't get to see it cold started as I showed up to look at it right after someone else did. The owner said its started like that since he has owned it (10+) and its never failed to start and that its the "nature of the beast" on the old 9.9 4 strokes. If that's how it is then let it be, I guess I'm just spoiled by my EFI Johnson