A gen 1 is more than capable on the Tail of the dragon- I just got back from there, and it was a blast! Make no mistake- you will never mistake a vmax for a sportbike, its a serious workout to run it hard at the Gap, but mine handled it just fine. I just put on new shinko 230's, it has progressive springs in the 2000 front end, and 11 1/2" Progressive rear shocks. Chicken strips were less than a 1/4" wide front and rear(170-80-15 rear tire) after the second run through the tail. Just leave it in second gear, and you will rarely even have to hit the brakes, and comes out of the corners light a rocket:biglaugh:! Be VERY aware that the cops are out in force, especially on the weekends, & WILL whack you with a ticket!:bang head: