I'm looking used, '04-'06, and I've found a couple in town that look decent, so I'll give them a squint sometime this week when I have time. Mostly, my intention is to haul myself (5'3"), the man-friend (6'), and our gigantic one-year old in his gigantic carseat. Spending a lot of time in the mountains, good twisties handling is a plus, and I'd like a wee bit of offroad capability for forest roads and geocaching excursions. However, the bulk of my driving will be around-town mommy-mobiling and a few interstate treks. Dirt-bike towing will also come into play.

MD - Do you know Rick ("Yellow Wolf") who used to ride the yellow Goldwing all over Hell's half acre? He's in Waynesville. Nice area.

Love those motos...

ML,
Good year(s) to be looking, as most will still be under oem warranty &
maintenance program, and/or under a Stlr slapped on CPO warranty.

I would avoid private sales, unless the oem warranty is still ticking, you
"can run the key" for history, and it's really a good buy.

When you come upon sorted down possibilites, if you are curious for
opins, toss the details of the suspects up here and you'll get some
2Cts.

We love our old '01 3.0, 5 spd manual Sport, for western NC driving
and haulazz trips back to NJ/NY to see the Kidz. Sport may be worth
a look for you, espc. in driving eastern TN/western NC, etc. A tad
stiffer ride, but handling is heads above the std suspension.

As for towing, you will get a lot of opins: some tow with the 3.0 and
some cheer on the 4.4 V8. If you aren't pulling a big boat, the 3.0
seems to be adequate for towing...some simply prefer the V8 and the
highway mpg is not hugely diff. In town, the 3.0 does better, mpg-wise.

I've seen a guy a few times up at The Gap, who can ride a yellow wing
better than 95% of the sling shot riders can ride, but I've never met the
guy. I even tossed up a YouTube vid of his on this board. Waynesville isn't
NYC, so I'm surprised I haven't actually met him...hmmm.

We are at 5,000 just above Laurel Ridge CC and overlooking the town. We love it,
though we do "winter" here in SW, FL.

Nice corner shot! My seldom done knee touching days are over; I've become quite
mortal at 60+ yrs. old, lol!

Good luck on your hunt and keep it under a hundred twenty and between the ditches!
GL,mD

That'd be him. Really good guy. :)

I used to be in the faster 5%, but post-child and out of practice, I doubt I could hold him for three corners. He sold the Goldwing and now has a first-gen SV, if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks for all the info - I'll get the particulars and seek further opinion when I get some things narrowed down.

Late, but welcome!