Portugal’s ‘Mugen’ streetfighter named as winner of the 2026 Honda Customs ‘Battle of the Twins’ customisation competition
What began on the shores of Biarritz at the 2026 Wheels and Waves festival has reached its conclusion. Following months of online voting at Hondacustoms.com, Europe’s motorcycle community has selected its favourite creations from the eclectic line-up of custom CB750 Hornet and XL750 Transalp builds, bringing an exhilarating end to this year’s ‘On Road vs Off Road’ Battle of the Twins.
Emerging victorious from a field of ten remarkable customs is ‘Mugen‘, the striking CB750 Hornet created by Portuguese dealer Mototrofa (@mototrofa). With a marked increase in votes cast this year, the competition continues to grow in strength and reach with votes cast from a total of 102 countries. Building on the success of previous years, 2026’s edition featured another new element, with the builds reviewed by the designers of the original bikes – Valerio Aieillo (Transalp) and Giovanni Dovis (Hornet) from Honda’s R&D centre in Rome.
The winners:
Winner – On-Road & Overall
‘Mugen’ – Portugal
Taking a total of 10,092 votes – almost 24% of the total 42,119 cast, and 36% of the total On Road vote – on Hondacustoms.com was Portuguese dealer Mototrofa’s reinterpretation of the CB750 Hornet, Mugen. Created under the mantra of ‘form should follow function’, the bike adopts an aggressive streetfighter stance and style finished in a deep forest green, punctuated by gold and carbon fibre detailing and sporting a number of custom components.
“This victory carries a strong personal significance for all the people in Mototrofa,” explains Paulo Ferreira, Creative Director of the Mugen project. “Having the opportunity to have two winning projects in a European competition of this scale is something that makes us genuinely proud, especially because behind every project there is a team, countless hours of work, discussion, attention to detail, and above all, a great deal of dedication.”
Mototrofa become the second repeat winners of the competition, after MAAN Motocicil achieved the feat last year, and joins an illustrious list of previous winners.
2025: Italy’s Motocicil Audaci (@motocicliaudaci) takes its second crown with the Hachimaan bobber; a heavily modified interpretation of the GB350S
2024: Turkey’s Bunker Custom Cycles (@bunkercustomcycles) with the ‘Bunker Imprint’ reinterpretation of the urban scrambler-style CL500
2023: Portugal’s Art on Wheels (@artonwheelsgarage), who created the ‘Furiosa’ Dax in collaboration with Tamara Alves (@tamara_aalves)
2022: Italy’s Motocicli Audaci – creators of the ‘Maanboard’ CMX500 Rebel
2021: Portugal’s Mototrofa dealer (@mototrofa) – with the ‘Fenix’ CB650R
2020: Switzerland’s Brivemo Motos (@brivemomotos) who created the ‘Africa Four’ version of the CB1000R.
Winner – Off-Road:
Saharja – Italy
On the top step of the off-road podium is (DRS Custom)’s Saharja, a Dakar influenced vision of the Transalp. Built under the guise of ‘inspired by the desert, built for the journey’, the bike earned over 4,800 votes or 36% of the overall off-road build total. Boasting a handcrafted navigation tower (DRS) with digital road book and TFT speedometer, the bike also sports the iconic HRC Tricolour livery over a redesigned front end with integrated high-output LED lights. Handguards, steel side protection bars and an aluminium skid plate, handcrafted aluminium side fuel tanks, knobby tires and a high-mounted exhaust complete the transformation into a go anywhere, any time machine.
“It was an honour being involved by Honda Italia in the Honda Customs 2026 contest. Working on a Transalp and giving it a Dakar style was definitely an exciting challenge,” said Paolo Di Russo, owner of the DRS Custom Cycles. “The passion and the hard work put in this project have been rewarded by the appreciation of many, and all the compliments and positive feedback filled me with immense gratitude. I would like to thank all the people that supported me in the creation of “Saharja” and particularly Honda Italia for giving me such an amazing opportunity”.
Podium – On-Road:
P2 Last Lap – Spain
Another hot prospect through the entire competition was ‘Last Lap’ by Spanish dealer Stilmoto (@Stilmoto). With the look of a 1980’s GP racer, the radical reimagining of the Hornet is an homage to classic racers of the past. Its boxy styling winning favour with fans and journalists alike, Last Lap took a total of over 6,900 votes (or 16% of the overall total) Built in-house by Spanish dealer Stilmoto, the full, frontal, race fairing is freshly pressed from a NOS 40-year-old mould, whilst the flat-top tank and boxy rear section were all custom made. A single sided swingarm and full custom exhaust remove mass from the lower and rear sections of the bike, emphasising its sporty intent.
P3 Sting Honey – Poland
Rounding out the podium for 2026 was ‘Sting Honey’ from Polish dealer Honda Sokół, in partnership with builder Steel Choppers – the first time a Polish entry had joined the competition. Taking inspiration from the Hornet name, Sting Honey brings a bespoke look and feel to the Hornet through custom paintwork, based around a honeycomb structure and a one-off fabricated rear end – redesigned to exaggerate the Hornet’s sting in a sharper, more aggressive and dynamic style. Paired with handcrafted fairings, fuel tank, seat and handlebar mounts, alongside items from the wider Honda range – including the headlight from a CB125R wrapped in a café-racer-esque front fairing and spoked wheels from the X-ADV scooter for a familiar yet all-new take on the CB750. And it faired well with the voting public, ending the competition with almost 12% of the total votes cast.
Podium – Off-Road:
P2 ’86 Dakar Tribute – UK
Paying homage to Cyril Neveu’s win aboard the iconic 1986 NXR750, CJ Ball’s interpretation of the XL750 Transalp channels pure Dakar vibes through a highly-detailed desert paint scheme that puts the race’s brutal backdrop front and centre, a high-exit blacked out twin exhaust system and upgraded long-travel suspension. The front fender has been raised to amplify the off-road intentions, whilst upgraded off-road tyres and race number boards complete the racing look. Also integrated into the new livery is a tribute to Dakar founder, Thierry Sabine, with his famous quote “A challenge for those who go, a dream for those who stay behind” added to the bike. It’s sentiment that found favour with voters, with the nostalgic bike achieving a total 20% share of the off-road category votes.
P3 Ocean Nomad – France
A vision of costal living, ‘Ocean Nomad’ mixes together the adventurous spirit with old-school surf culture in a nostalgic, patinaed aesthetic. A simplified silhouette comes courtesy of the removal of frontal fairings, an old-school round headlight which houses modern-day LED internals, and an all-new brown leather seat. This is matched to an aged ocean blue, ivory and burnt orange paint finish over the tank and remaining Transalp panels. Ocean Nomad is finished off with a stubby exhaust, custom US-style licence plates, side surfboard rack complete with matching skate and surfboards, giving the impression the bike has lived a life with many stories to tell.
Hondacustoms headlines
2026 saw a record-breaking number of people visiting the hondacustoms.com website over the summer to cast their votes, with the total vote count of 42,119 representing an increase of 39% over 2025. On Road entries proved particularly popular, attracting 28,775 votes (68.32% of the total), while Off Road builds received 13,344 votes (31.68%). For those wishing to take a closer look at all of this year’s builds, the hondacustoms.com page is still available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
(original post on modernclassicbikes.co.uk)
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