It's half-way through the second year with Triumph's Speed Triple, and everything's still going swimmingly with the Hinckley hooligan. I've just had her back from the good folks at Croydon Triumph dealer, Carl Rosner, where she's had an annual service. The service is a little early in terms of miles - there's not another one due until 6,000 miles, but I've only covered 3,600 on the Triple. However, the book also says the service has to be done after a year regardless of miles, so I booked her in.

I was a little worried about a new 'rattle' I thought I'd detected on the motor, but the time-served technical wizards at Rosner's had a listen, and declared it all in my mind. They pointed out that the rear brake pads were just past half-worn, and would be due for replacement soon, and that was that.

On other fronts, I've swapped out the old Avon Storm ST tyres in favour of some Michelin Pilot Power 2CTs instead. The Avons had given ample performance on the road, and served me well all through winter. But with 2,500 miles on them, they'd squared off beyond redemption, and with a SuperBike track day looming, I needed something a bit sportier and newer to keep me shiny side up. The Michelins were excellent at Brands Hatch, the new, sharper profile gave a lighter feel to the steering, and there was ample grip for the Triple's power and ground-clearance-limited lean angles. I only had one wee slide all day, from the back out of Clearways, where an over-enthusiastic throttle hand and the track's bumps got the better of the tyre. Away from Brands, on the road, the 2CTs are just as impressive. They're warmed in a trice, and on the bumpy, polished asphalt of South London, they're more than up to the job.

The final mod I've made was to swap out the Zard silencer I'd had on since Christmas in favour of a new slip-on can from Leo Vince. The GP is made from tough stainless steel with a natty shot-peened finish, and a removable baffle for extra noise. Although, I'm not sure how much extra noise you could want - the Leo Vince is pretty loud with the baffle in place, and you might struggle with it at a quiet track day. The silencer is a pretty easy fit - whip off all the stock silencer components, then mount a small bracket on the footpeg hangers. The silencer mounts with one bracket bolt, and the stock downpipe clamp. You save a stack of weight - nearly 7kg over stock - and get a stack more noise for your £277. Click www.moto.gb.com for more info on Leo Vince...