Hornets vs Transalps: Custom Hondas Face Off At Wheels and Waves

Five CB750s and five XL750s at seventh annual HondaCustoms.com competition

Honda is hosting its seventh annual Hondacustoms.com build competition this week at the Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz, France, and this year, there’s a new twist: the competition is pitting five builds based on the CB750 Hornet against another five built off of the XL750 Transalp in an “On-Road vs. Off-Road” theme.

The 10 builds were produced from a different shop representing a different country in Europe. Those in attendance will hear commentary on each build from the original designers of the donor bikes, Transalp designer Valerio Aieillo, and Hornet designer Giovanni Dovis.

Whether you’re in Biarritz or not, you can vote for your favorite custom build online at hondacustoms.com.

Begin Press Release:

Battle of the twins: Honda celebrates the CB750 Hornet and XL750 Transalp at Wheels and Waves 2026

• Ten custom builds representing ten countries celebrate individualisation and customisation 

• 750cc pairing of Hornet and Transalp introduces ‘On Road vs Off Road’ element to the seventh annual European competition

• Commentary on each build provided by their original styling designers

• All custom bikes will be on display at the Wheels & Waves festival in Biarritz from 10th to the 14th June

• Online poll at hondacustoms.com will crown Europe’s favourite custom

• Winner to be announced at the end of the summer

Honda is set to introduce a new element to its long-running hondacustoms.com customization competition in 2026 at Wheels and Waves, Biarritz. This year will be the seventh running of the Hondacustoms.com competition and will see ten custom builds of the 750cc parallel twin pairing of Hornet and Transalp go head-to-head in a ‘On Road Vs. Off Road’ contest.

Building on the successes of previous competitions, this year’s edition features another new element, as the builds will each be reviewed by the designers of the original bikes – Valerio Aieillo ( Transalp) and Giovanni Dovis ( Hornet) from Honda’s R&D centre in Rome. 

The ‘On Vs. Off’ competition follows an eclectic mix of other Honda’s that have received the attention of some of Europe’s most creative minds: in 2020, the CB1000R was the first bike offered up for voting, followed in 2021 by the CB650R and the CMX500 Rebel in 2022. For 2023 the Dax, Grom and Monkey minibikes took centre stage, 2024 saw the CL500 (and one CL250) transformed into a wide range of spectacular creations, whilst last year the all-new GB350S took centre stage.

The Hondacustoms.com contest has become an annual event – working simultaneously in reality and online – that’s grown in popularity as imaginations run riot, with the platform receiving over 30,000 voting visitors throughout summer of 2025, marking a 19% year on year increase, with over 7,300 people downloading the custom wallpaper of their chosen bike.

All ten bikes – five Transalps and five Hornets – can be seen in person at the annual Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz from Wednesday 10th to Sunday 14th June 2026, with the on-line voting open throughout the summer at hondacustoms.com. Website visitors can vote for their favourite custom build and download a bespoke wallpaper of that bike for their device.

White Venom – Honda Germany x Motocrew

Sting Honey – Honda Poland x Honda Sokół x Steel Choppers

Last Lap – Honda Spain x Stilmoto

Mugen – Honda Portugal x Mototrofa

Concept 2077 – Honda Switzerland x Stark Industries

Ruth – Honda Austria x Reier Motors

Ocean Nomad – Honda France x CB77 by Gauvin

Saharja – Honda Italy x DRS Custom

40th Anniversary ’86 Dakar Tribute – Honda UK x CJ Ball

On site attraction…

Building on the success of last year’s live sand sculpture GB350S, this year graffiti artist Moka 187 will be creating one-off artworks of the bikes on display at Wheels and Waves, using the surfboards always used by Honda as stands for the custom builds.

Custom Honda CB750 Hornets at Wheels and Waves 2026 – Gallery

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76 photos

Custom Honda XL750 Transalps at Wheels and Waves 2026 – Gallery

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75 photos

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