Honda Hornet and Transalp customs star at Wheels and Waves 2026
Honda has taken its annual custom motorcycle competition in a new direction for 2026, with five CB750 Hornet builds taking on five XL750 Transalp customs at Wheels and Waves in Biarritz.
Honda has taken its annual custom motorcycle competition in a new direction for 2026, putting its two 755 cc parallel-twin middleweights head-to-head at Wheels and Waves in Biarritz.
The seventh running of the competition adopts an ‘On Road versus Off Road’ theme, with five CB750 Hornet customs going up against five XL750 Transalp builds. All ten motorcycles are on display at Wheels and Waves from this week, before online voting continues through the European summer at hondacustoms.com.
Honda’s five CB750 Hornet customs for the 2026 Honda Customs competition, with the Polish ‘Sting Honey’ and Spanish ‘Last Lap’ builds prominent in the foreground.
The winning build will be announced towards the end of the European summer.
The CB750 Hornet and XL750 Transalp share the same 755 cc Unicam parallel-twin engine architecture, producing just over 90 horsepower and 75 Nm in Australian-market specification, yet the two models approach the middleweight category from very different ends of the spectrum.
Honda’s five XL750 Transalp customs take the 750 twin platform in an off-road direction for the 2026 Honda Customs competition.
The Hornet is the sharp, compact roadster of the pairing, while the Transalp takes the same engine base into adventure-touring territory. For the custom competition, that split has become the central theme, with the Hornet entries representing the ‘On Road’ side and the Transalp builds carrying the ‘Off Road’ brief.
Honda says the 2026 competition also brings a new judging element, with the custom creations reviewed by members of the design team behind the original machines. Valerio Aiello, who worked on the Transalp, and Giovanni Dovis, who worked on the Hornet, both from Honda’s R&D centre in Rome, will cast a designer’s eye over the builds.
Honda’s full 2026 custom line-up brings together five CB750 Hornet builds and five XL750 Transalp customs for the Hornet versus Transalp showdown.
Honda’s custom competition has previously featured the CB1000R, CB650R, CMX500 Rebel, Dax, Grom, Monkey, CL500, CL250 and GB350S. The 2025 GB350S competition drew more than 30,000 voters, while more than 7,300 people downloaded wallpapers of their chosen custom machine.
The Honda Hornet customs
White Venom – Honda Germany x Motocrew
Germany’s CB750 Hornet entry takes the form of a modern urban street tracker. Called White Venom, the Motocrew build uses a restrained but striking white finish contrasted by a matt-black frame and carbon Rotobox Bullet rims wrapped in Dunlop slicks.
Custom Wilbers suspension changes the Hornet’s stance, while a one-off X-style exhaust gives the parallel-twin a more aggressive visual and aural presence. The build also features a shortened tail, custom swingarm, handmade metal bodywork, blade-style brake discs, 3D-printed tail-light, CNC-machined yokes and a custom handlebar set-up.
Sting Honey – Honda Poland x Honda Sokół x Steel Choppers
Honda Poland’s CB750 Hornet ‘Sting Honey’ was created with Honda Sokół and Steel Choppers for the 2026 Honda Customs competition.
Poland’s Sting Honey leans directly into the Hornet name. Created by Honda Sokół with Steel Choppers, the build uses honeycomb-inspired paintwork and a redesigned rear-end intended to give the CB750 a sharper, more wasp-like tail.
The Steel Choppers-built CB750 Hornet ‘Sting Honey’ features honeycomb tank detailing, spoked wheels and a café-racer-style front fairing.
Handmade bodywork, tank, seat and handlebar mounts are matched with selected Honda componentry, including a CB125R headlight housed within a café-racer-style front fairing and X-ADV spoked wheels.
Twin high-mount exhaust outlets and a trimmed tail section sharpen the rear of the Steel Choppers CB750 Hornet custom.
Last Lap – Honda Spain x Stilmoto
Honda Spain and Stilmoto’s ‘Last Lap’ CB750 Hornet channels 1980s endurance and grand prix race-bike styling.
Spain’s Last Lap is an unabashed nod to 1980s grand prix racing. Stilmoto has taken the Hornet in a full race-replica direction, using a front fairing created from a 40-year-old NOS mould kept in the workshop.
Honda Spain’s ‘Last Lap’ CB750 Hornet features bold sponsor-style graphics and number 16 race plates.
A flat-topped tank, squared-off tail and unique take on HRC tricolour paintwork give the bike a period endurance-racer feel.
The Stilmoto-built ‘Last Lap’ CB750 Hornet uses full race bodywork, white wheels and number 16 plates.
A single-sided swingarm and dedicated exhaust help sharpen the silhouette and pull visual mass lower and rearward.
Twin high-level exhaust outlets exit through the angular tail unit of the Stilmoto ‘Last Lap’ CB750 Hornet.
Mugen – Honda Portugal x Mototrofa
Honda CB750 Hornet ‘Mugen’ custom by Honda Portugal and Mototrofa, finished in deep green with gold detailing and streetfighter bodywork.
Portugal’s Mugen is a streetfighter treatment built around functional aggression.
The Mototrofa-built ‘Mugen’ CB750 Hornet features a sharpened tail, custom rear-end treatment and gold rear wheel.
Mototrofa has finished the bike in deep forest green, offset by gold detailing on the rear wheel, short exhaust and fork.
Carbon-style winglets and revised front bodywork give the ‘Mugen’ Hornet a more aggressive streetfighter face.
The build uses a custom swingarm, MotoGP-inspired carbon front wings, bespoke bellypan, abbreviated tail, clip-ons, custom seat, carbon detailing and a lowered front end to give the Hornet a tougher, more nose-down stance.
The ‘Mugen’ CB750 Hornet on display, showing its custom tail, gold rear wheel and compact streetfighter silhouette.
Concept 2077 – Honda Switzerland x Stark Industries
Switzerland’s Concept 2077 takes the most futuristic road-bike approach.
The ‘Concept 2077’ CB750 Hornet on display, showing its sculpted red bodywork, gold accents and aggressive custom stance.
Stark Industries has used 3D-printed bodywork, including a revised lower fairing, bellypan and front-end treatment, while disc-effect wheels heavily alter the CB750 Hornet’s profile.
Sharp layered front bodywork and a reworked headlight treatment give the Stark Industries ‘Concept 2077’ Hornet its sci-fi-inspired face.
Deep candy red paint with subtle gold accents gives the build a high-tech concept-bike feel, with an emphasis on lighting and forward-biased bodywork to push the Hornet well away from its standard streetfighter form.
The ‘Concept 2077’ Hornet uses heavily revised bodywork, disc-style wheels and angular detailing to create a futuristic custom look.
The Honda Transalp customs
Ruth – Honda Austria x Reier Motors
Austria’s Ruth takes inspiration from Baja competition and pushes the XL750 Transalp towards the enduro-rally end of the adventure spectrum.
Honda Austria’s ‘Ruth’ XL750 Transalp on display, showing its blue wheels, high-set twin exhausts and enduro-inspired custom treatment.
Reier Motors effectively rebuilt the machine around a new visual identity, with purple and matt neon-red bodywork, custom headlights and added auxiliary lighting.
The Reier Motors-built ‘Ruth’ Transalp features twin LV exhausts, knobby tyres, translucent red side panels and a competition-style tail section.
A high-routed exhaust adds to the off-road competition flavour.
Honda XL750 Transalp ‘Ruth’ custom by Honda Austria and Reier Motors, taking the Transalp platform in a Baja-inspired off-road direction.
Ocean Nomad – Honda France x CB77 by Gauvin
France’s Ocean Nomad moves in a more lifestyle-focused direction, mixing coastal surf culture with retro adventure-bike cues.
Honda France’s ‘Ocean Nomad’ XL750 Transalp carries a surfboard and matching board-style luggage as part of its Wheels and Waves custom treatment.
CB77 by Gauvin removed much of the Transalp’s front bodywork, fitting a round retro-style LED headlight, brown leather seat and aged ocean-blue, ivory and burnt-orange paint.
The ‘Ocean Nomad’ build combines coastal surf culture with retro adventure-bike styling on the XL750 Transalp platform.
A short exhaust, US-style number plates and a side-mounted board rack carrying matching skate and surf boards complete the beach-runner theme.
The ‘Ocean Nomad’ Transalp features a round LED headlight, custom front bodywork and weathered coastal graphics.
Honda ATC750 – Honda Benelux x Dealer Anquety Motor Sport
Benelux has produced the wildest interpretation of the lot, converting the Transalp into a modern off-road trike.
Honda XL750 Transalp ‘ATC750’ custom by Honda Benelux and Anquety Motor Sport, reimagining the Transalp as a modern three-wheeled off-road machine.
The ATC750 uses a new swingarm, rear axle and axle retention system to package a heavily revised bespoke drivetrain.
The ‘ATC750’ conversion features a bespoke rear axle, twin rear balloon tyres and gold wheels in a nod to Honda’s classic ATC machines.
Custom bodywork wraps around the large rear tyres, while the front has been reshaped with a short screen and revised auxiliary lighting. It is less a subtle custom than a ground-up reimagining of what a modern Honda ATC could be.
Honda Benelux’s ‘ATC750’ custom transforms the XL750 Transalp adventure platform into a radical three-wheeled off-road special.
Saharja – Honda Italy x DRS Custom
Italy’s Saharja is a rally-raid interpretation of the Transalp, developed by DRS Custom and dressed in HRC tricolour colours.
Displayed indoors, the Honda Italy x DRS Custom ‘Saharja’ highlights its Dakar-style proportions and purposeful adventure specification.
The build features a handcrafted navigation tower with digital roadbook and TFT instrumentation, high-output LED lighting, gold wheels and gold handlebars.
Honda XL750 Transalp ‘Saharja’ custom by Honda Italy and DRS Custom, transformed into a rally-inspired adventure machine with desert-racer styling.
A raised one-piece seat, CNC aluminium rally pegs, handguards, steel side bars with eight-litre bags, aluminium bashplate, auxiliary aluminium side tanks, knobby tyres and a high exhaust all push the Transalp towards desert-rally duty.
The cockpit of the ‘Saharja’ features a rally-style navigation setup with tablet-based roadbook display and upgraded controls.
40th Anniversary ’86 Dakar Tribute – Honda UK x CJ Ball
The UK entry pays tribute to Cyril Neveu’s 1986 Dakar victory aboard the NXR750, using the XL750 Transalp as the base for a retro desert-racer build.
Rear three-quarter view of the Dakar Tribute reveals its twin high-mounted exhausts, gold spoked wheels and rally-inspired bodywork.
Created with CJ Ball, the bike features a period-inspired Dakar livery, dual high-mounted exhausts, longer-travel suspension, a raised front guard, off-road tyres and race number boards.
From the opposite rear angle, the custom Transalp highlights its off-road tyres, elevated exhaust system and Dakar-themed side graphics.
The graphics also carry a nod to Dakar founder Thierry Sabine, making it one of the more heritage-driven machines in the 2026 Honda Customs field.
The fuel tank artwork maps the Paris-Dakar route, reinforcing the tribute theme of this Honda UK and CJ Ball build.
Voting now open
All ten bikes are on display this week at Wheels and Waves in Biarritz, with online voting open through the summer at hondacustoms.com.
After last year’s GB350S sand sculpture at Wheels and Waves, Honda is also continuing the art theme in 2026, with graffiti artist Moka 187 creating one-off works on surfboards used as display props around the Honda custom motorcycles.
The 2026 winner will be announced at the end of the European summer.
