Stay away from Deals Gap!
I suppose if you're riding through it's one of those things you gotta do, but it ain't the best road to test your bike.
There's just too much crap happening there. Bunch of stumps doing stupid s***, tourists..cars and bikes..that have never been on a road like that exceeding their skill set, the double-yellow crossers are on every other curve, and if nothing else gets you the Tenn. HP has a good shot at it. They're everywhere.
The road is cool. Back in the day when we first 'invented' supermoto bikes, we'd ride over to the Gap and tear it up. Besides the locals, the core bike guys were the only ones that knew about it and the cops didn't care. It was fun as hell then. We'd come out of there with ground footpegs and roasted tires..giggling like little girls.
It's just too busy now. Deals Gap has become the Disney World of twisty roads.
I tell all my fellow riding-buddy's that come to visit;
I live in motorcycle heaven. 90% of the roads you ride here will be awesome. So my recommendation is...
Get lost! Fill up the gas tank and get freakin lost. Seriously, turn off everything..get out in the country and just ride around. The back-roads are phenomenal, the scenery is spectacular, and the people are wonderful. You'll pretty much have the place to yourself, and sooner or later you're bound to come out somewhere that you know where you are.
This is the true Blue Ridge Mountains motorcycle experience.