Custom Painted?

Q:My Panasonic DX series bike says “Custom Painted by Panasonic” on the top tube so I have one of the special PICS frames right?

A: Sorry to say, but that isn’t a PICS frame. In fact, it is just a standard production frame. Panasonic had some nice paint schemes and one way to promote them to the consumer was to add a little hype to the package by applying the custom painted stickers. Many of the bikes were indeed hand made and painted but the presence of that sticker doesn’t mean your bike is some sort of special edition. Most of the PICS (road) frames were Team America models and would often have the owner’s name on the top tube near the seat post.