Looks like Yamaha had Bridgestone make a one off tire for the new max. In the past when Yamaha has a tire company make a tire specifically for them it is only available from Yamaha for the first year. This can sometimes cause trouble with backorders. Looks like the replacement tire is now available from Yamaha in all warehouses and is $220. May not be a bad idea to get one on the way. Kind of pricey but we have all waited so long to get this thing it would suck to have it sit even a day while waiting on a new rear tire. On a side note, I have been bugging our Yamaha parts and acc. rep for days about this new 240 rear wheel for the Vmax. He finally got back to me Friday and said it is something that they have in the R and D but it is in no way a 100% sure thing. He said he spoke to the guys directly involved with this program and they have had some issues with the fitment of this wheel, he hinted at the shaft drive being very close and some other small issues. I did take the time to look up the price of the factory rear wheel and it is under $600 so this new one may not be much more than that. I hope this is helpful.