Those …“decals” in Brooklyn: JS Typography

When a couple of weeks ago we went to pick up our new plastics painted by Mario Pires at AJS Autowerks Body shop we were very excited but back in Brooklyn a few guys raised their eyebrows when looking at the flamboyant rainbow flakes of a wonderful paintjob that, to them, it seemed more appropriated on a chromed-up low ride than a race bike. Personally, I was convinced that we had a good combination of colors with a very effective design so we had only to balance those glittery flakes with some original and precious decals.

With our luggage of thoughts and the first of the 5 bikes, Antonio, Naim and I went to see our friend Diana Sliwa. Along with her parents she owns JS Typography, a very successful graphic studio, located at 8659 18th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11214 (718 676-6098 or 718 234-6847).

In the late 90s we were going for bike numbers and decals to another local shop but it was like to go to see a dentist with a terrible toothache: we had to do it, it was going to be expensive and we knew that we were going to satisfy our needs but not our emotions. Let’s be honest … our first few race plastics were just ok, nothing wrong with them, but overall blah, like a dish with no salt! Then, one day, I guess five or six years ago, Robert Lombardi met this young girl, Diana. At that time she was studying fashion design and helping her father in the new typography business. She had probably never seen a race motorcycle in her life, neither her father, but she decided to produce decals for who became her first road racer customer. In the following months her enthusiasm, immense creativity and patience in understanding each client’s need, made the rest: all the motorcycle riders in the neighbor started rely on her expertise to repair, personalize and improve the overall look of their bikes.

In this project we knew only: that we were going to use the PMP and PurePassion logos (trademarks designed by me and developed by Diana a couple of years ago) and that per Mario’s suggestion we should have tried orange pin stripes. We had no clue about what colors and font to use for the numbers, sponsors, and various logos … and how to “manage those flakes” ….

In similar situations Diana is the best: she has a proven method to collect, screen and organize the customer’s ideas to satisfy his or her mode of expression while guiding emotions towards feasible solutions that always remain tasteful.

It took several hours, more than a few espresso macchiati and several attempts to come up with the right combinations of colors to dress up Naim’s bike. We started with the pin stripes, then the numbers, next the Pure Passion decals. For those, as for the front fender PMP logo Diana did a really great job, something that I could compare to a piece of bijouterie: layers of special reflective material that was finally able to counteract the relentless game of rainbows created by Mario Pires’s flakes. At that point it was like to go downhill with the rest of decals ….. the motorcycle ying yang, Lombardi School’s logo, various personal designs, sponsors decals and so forth.

Diana is a multi talent woman. You could never guess what she is doing when you enter her store: printing or painting tee shirts, drawing mysterious women, air brushing helmets or creating sign for her customers.

So, the next time you have a graphic design project, do not forget … those “decals” in Brooklyn.

PMP in Jennings Gp, Florida: Jan 13 & 14

Last Thursday the PureMotorbikePassion crew & friends left their homes in NY-NJ to travel down south to Jennings Gp, a race track located in Florida at the border with Georgia. After 16-17 hours trip we arrived in Lake Park, a little town a few miles away from Jennings.

On Friday we were able to visit the track, unload the trailers and to walk the circuit: 2 miles long, with 2 straights and 14 turns. The in-field of the track starts right after the longest straight (characterized by two kinks) with a very tight double S leading to the first of the 9 twisty, but well connected, turns: it’s here where the rider’s technical skills along with a good suspension set up can transform a simple dice in a breathtaking show with riders constantly switching the inside-outside lines. The track has been specifically designed to racing specifications with extremely safe run offs, excellent asphalt grip and slightly cambered turns to boost rubber contact at the entrance of the fastest turns.

The two day event was the first one organized by the boutique-style club, Absolute Cycle: Roy and Mark were “absolutely” right in limiting the number of riders to 50 and having an “opened track” instead of the typical 3 group format required in the North-East circuits: indeed we had just a few beginners in a track reasonably wide, with very light braking involved, and where the accidental excursion in the grass, to avoid a slower rider unable to keep the line, is a trivial occurrence.
Absolute Cycle event in Jennings has been a total success inside and outside the track: people were smiling, laughing and helping each other. The club provided free lunch to everybody for both days, great discounts on tires and blended its services to the others offered by the track and the other vendors. A special gratitude goes to the photographer Ken for his wonderful pictures and to Rick, the suspension set-up specialist from the Suzuki Hooters Team, for his ability to improve dramatically the handling of our bikes.


As we have already announced , the PureMotorbikePassion crew had chosen the Jennings weekend to unveil the new paint scheme of our bikes. The new PMP plastics became an event within the event stirring the curiosity and the interest of the majority of the people surrounding us. While the rays of the warm Florida sun were playing with the metallic flakes of the three-color painted plastics and the reflective decals of our logos, more than one time we caught people standing by our bikes and moving their heads up and down - right and left to seize with their eyes elaborated rainbows created by the surrounding colors ……

As Rick, Parts Manager of Absolute Cycle, has commented on my MySpace page:

“Jan 16 2007 2:11P

awesome weekend alex...the new bikes look absolutely great! ……”



Photo Album provided by Almos, Mark, Alessandro

PMP bikes: Painting by Mario Pires, Decals by Diana

The new PMP bikes soon in Jennings: update.

Last night we had the first 5 Pure Motorbike Passion bikes lined up in front our trailers ready for Jennings. They looked striking with their mix of bold colors perfectly balanced by a smart and unique graphics: the final result is an awesome, modern-looking bike that is going to turn a lot of heads at the race track events in the same way it did on the Brooklyn sidewalks in these past few days.

The new PMP bikes soon in Jennings.

In one week from today, the Pure Motorbike Passion crew will unveil the new PMP bikes in Jennings, Florida. Our "artists" Mario Pires and Diana Sliwa have done a gorgeous job playing with these three colors.