Biarritz is back on the map. From 10 to 14 June, the Wheels & Waves Festival plays host to the seventh edition of Honda’s hondacustoms.com competition – and this year the brief is different. CB750 Hornet and XL750 Translap, head to head. Same engine, 750 cc parallel-twin. A completely different world. Five road builds against five off-road machines, ten countries, ten builders.
Each project passed through the hands of the people who designed the original. Valerio Aiello, who wrote Translap, and Giovanni Dovis, who was responsible for the Hornet – both at Honda’s R&D center in Rome – reviewed each build. Voting begins at hondacustoms.com and runs throughout the summer. The winner is announced at the end of the season. Last year more than 30,000 people had voted. This was 19 percent more than last year.
on the road
Portugal enters with ‘Mugen’. Mototropha created it for Honda Portugal based on an idea: form follows function. Forest green from head to tail, with MotoGP-inspired carbon winglets at the front, a cut-down tail, bespoke swingarm and lowered front suspension. Understated, but it bites.
Germany sent ‘White Venom’ by motocrew. Rotobox Bullet carbon wheels on Dunlop slicks, Wilburs suspension and an X-shaped exhaust with heat wrap that turns heads from every angle. The white finish varies between invisible and prominent depending on where you stand.
Poland went with ‘Sting Honey’, a joint effort of Honda Sokol and Steel Choppers. Honeycomb paintwork, X-ADV spoke wheels and a CB125R headlight nestle into a café-racer fairing. Familiar and completely stranger at the same time.
Spain pay tribute to the 1980s with ‘Last Lap’ by Stilmoto. The complete fairing was pulled from a 40-year-old NOS mold – never used before – and finished in HRC tricolour. It looks like it’s on the grid from four decades ago.
Switzerland closed the range with the ‘Concept 2077’ by Starck Industries. 3D-printed bodywork, semi-covered wheels, deep candy red with gold details. Futuristic without trying too hard.
off road
Austria has come up with ‘Ruth’, which is designed by Rare Motors keeping Baja in mind. Range, performance and a look that stops people – purple, neon red and high-pitched exhaust. A blend of old and new that sits somewhere between classic adventure and full-on enduro.
France went the other way entirely. ‘Ocean Nomad’ by Gauvin written by CB77 is a naked, weathered trance with a beachy soul. Round headlights, brown leather seats, navy blue, ivory and dark orange vintage paintwork. It even comes with a side-mounted surfboard rack – board and skates included.
The Benelux entry is the most extreme. Anqueti Motor Sport’s ‘ATC750’ transforms the Translap into a trike with a completely new swingarm, rear axle and drivetrain. It really will go anywhere.
Italy has brought ‘Saharja’ through DRS Customs. Pure Rally Concept: Handcrafted navigation tower with digital roadbook and TFT speedo, HRC tricolor graphics, hand-built aluminum side tanks, knobby tires and a high-mounted exhaust. It looks like it came straight out of the Dakar Bivouac.
The United Kingdom concluded the line-up with the ’40th Anniversary ’86 Dakar Tribute’ produced by CJ Ball. A direct tribute to Cyril Neveu’s 1986 victory on the NXR750. Detailed desert race livery, long travel suspension, raised front mudguard and Thierry Sabine’s famous words – “A challenge for those who go, a dream for those who stay” – are applied to the bodywork.
All ten bikes are on display in Biarritz. Concurrent with the exhibition, graffiti artists will create original works on surfboards used as bike stands by Moka 187 Honda – a vibrant art tradition that began with the GB350s last year.
