I have been through Deal's Gap (Tail of the Dragon) many, many times. The fastest time I ever saw through that 11 miles was a guy on a yellow Goldwing. There was and may still be a video on Youtube somewhere that he shot. He used to ride behind other bikers and shoot video of them for money. So far as I know, he never lost anyone. Skill trumps equipment every time unless you are in that very small elite group of expert riders. I expect Lamont remembers who I am talking about.