I've been to Deals Gap many times with 3 different bikes. The one that I feel handled the mountains and tight turns the best was my 00 ZX7R. It's a heavy bike but will hang with the big boys on twisty roads. The ZX7R handles real nice once you set the suspension up, and install a nice steering dampener. These bikes can be found all over the place for well within your budget.

I love my 929 but it takes a lot more skill to control all that power through tight turns. I also rode a ZX12R up there and felt it did very good for as much bike as it.

Another bike I rode for a small period of time that will do good up there is the GSXR 600. It also is a nice handling bike.