The Great Zodia Debate

THE GREAT ZODIA DEBATE

DOES THE HONDA ZODIA, star of the recent Tokyo Motor Show and Cycle World's February, 1996, coverbike, look familiar? Glen Laivins thinks so. His company, Next World Design, Inc., created the Apache Warrior (Roundup, August, 1993, and July, 1995), and he is convinced Honda stole his idea.

According to Laivins, who traveled to the Milan, Italy, Show to see the Zodia in person, the two concept bikes have far too much in common to be coincidental. He cites no less than eight “similarities” between the Warrior and Zodia, ranging from the ethereal (styling elements such as the arched fork and fuel tank with handlebars passing through) to the material (automatic transmission, rim-brakes).

“We’re in the design business. We sell designs, and Honda hasn’t paid us for anything,” Laivins laments.

Honda, however, denies any wrong-doing. According to Ray Blank, American Honda’s vice president, marketing, the Zodia is an evolution of a project that began in the late 1980s, when American Honda executives expressed their desire to see “more forwardthinking designs” out of Japan. The resultant Advanced Design Team displayed three concept bikes at the Tokyo Motor Show: the C021 in 1989, the Mantis in ’91 and the ES21 in ’93.

The latter bike (CW, February, 1994), is the most significant here. Known internally as the “Sport Zodia,” the ES21 did in fact include some design elements that found their way onto the Zodia cruiser.

As for the Zodia’s mechanical elements, Blank stresses that there is nothing on the bike that hasn’t been seen before. For example, the fork and automatic transmission are derived from existing scooter technology.

Laivins’ next step? With no patent, he realizes he doesn’t have much ground for legal action. But with the Warrior nearing production, the last thing he wants is for Honda to steal his thunder. “At this point, what I’d really like is credit,” he says.

Brian Catterson