For the sixth consecutive year, Europe’s largest single make biking building competition touched down at the Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz, France, where the top machines from the Honda Customs contest assembled. For 2025, Honda Europe chose to give their dealers the single-cylinder, retro-inspired GB350S as the base, and then let each team go crazy. As always, the design choices are an incredibly eclectic mix, and with more teams taking part this year than ever before, only the finalists made the journey to Wheels and Waves. But you don’t have to have attended the French Festival to help decide the winner, with voting now open at HondaCustoms.com. The number of people logging on and getting involved has exploded year on year, and here are your finalists, the coolest Custom Honda GB350S’ from Europe’s Honda dealers.
A love letter from the Honda Motor Center Leon dealership to the classic cafe racers of a time gone by, The Rocket Lion embodies Hondas renowned build quality, attention to detail and smart touches from the company’s long history. The Rocket Lion utilises a modified RC181 fairing and screen up front, paired with a custom rear cowling for a unique side profile and silhouette. The cowling works in conjunction with a custom seat, itself shaped to give the bike the riding position of an old school GP bike. Michelin Road Classic tyres, titanium hardware throughout, and an official Honda colour paired with a patina-riddled oversized logo all form part of extensive specification list.
Drawing on inspiration from the preeminent era of the true cafe racer, is the Clubman TT from Mallorca Motos. The Spanish dealer has leaned into the GB350S’ 1960s aesthetic and taken inspiration from that decades street racing movement with its stubby clip-on handlebars, and short seat unit with integrated rear hump lowering the bikes silhouette. A blacked-out shotgun style exhaust amplifies the single cylinders sonorous beat and turns up the style. As do the three-spoke front, and solid rear wheel used to offset the unique paintwork, a colour that cycles through multiple blues and greens, emulating the sea and trees of the Isle of Man.
Paying tribute to the rebellious and free spirit of vintage motorcycles, Miranda (named after the seven-year daughter of the project leader) is a classy, effortlessly cool balance of aesthetics, functionality and personality. Designed by the all-female team at Honda Motorsport Las Rozas, Miranda has a few touches that enhance the original silhouette such as the new headlight cowl with integrated screen and revised seat, all finished in a retro-rich mixture of crisp white and candy pink paint. But the revisions arent just aesthetic, a free-flowing Arrow exhaust system liberates the GB350S’ voice whilst YSS rear suspension units beef up the bike’s handling capabilities.
Cutting a unique shape in the competition is Servihonda Mlagas MBX350. Focusing on a completely different decade, the machine’s look is defined by its squared off styling, and an iconic paint job evoking memories of the Spanish made two-stroke MBX80 of the 1980s. To ensure a near perfect copy of the MBX80, historical parts have been adapted and modified to fit the new frame and deliver an almost factory level of fit and finish. Refinished wheels, forks and swingarm in bright silver, plus evocative Pro-Link decal in red, further differentiates the MBX350 from its rival builds, while period correct square mirrors and a stubby Tavi exhaust system round out the modifications.
Portuguese dealer Tubais Motos Mia is a cafe racer inspired entry with some truly classic Honda racing lines. The upright frontal fairing and old school screen are pure 1960s racer and the blacked-out chassis offsets the fairings riff on the classic HRC colour combo of red, white and blue. The complementing stripe that runs from nose to tail, is subtly graduated out over the rear cowl making the whole colour scheme pop. Further adding to the retro aesthetic is the low-slung blacked-out exhaust and wire-spoked wheels. A new tail unit with subtly integrated compact LED light unit ensures a little modernity.
What if forgotten pieces from the past could inspire tomorrow’s style? Designed and styled by Freaky Debbie (Dborah Amaral, a Paris-based fashion designer specialising in upcycling) and prepared by Ruleshaker, the idea behind Okira is to create a one-of-a-kind motorcycle and matching outfit using unsold apparel and gear or pieces from past racing events.
Farnham Honda in the UK have crafted ‘Silver Bullet’, without doubt a classic take on a true British cafe-style machine and from the swoop of the nose-cone fairing, aluminium-finish fuel tank and svelte single seat unit it drips style and intent. Sharply raked clip-on handlebars sit well below the top yoke and match rear set footpegs mounted on beautifully machined hangers. Braided hoses hint at impressive braking power as does a wave-style front disc. And, just to cement its performance potential, the bike rolls on full racing slick tyres.
FTR350 takes inspiration from Flat Track racing and is built by Vertu Honda with a minimalist aesthetic and a focus on performance, handling and noise. A new, upswept seat section continues the soft curvature of the fuel tank, with the headlight replaced by a number board. Finished in custom red paint offset by White, Black and Blue graphics, the bodywork screams classic racer as does the blacked-out frame and wire wheels. Braking performance is bolstered through the addition of braided brake lines front and rear; an open cone air-filter and custom high-level exhaust (finished with a CR Racefit can) liberate the single-cylinder engine.
Swiss Wing is a unique creation born from a collaboration between Honda Moto Switzerland and Pellicari Design and inspired by aeronautics. The modifications include unique full wheels, louvers, rivets, hoses and screws. The large Honda Wing on the fuel tank is beautifully marked out, all borrowed from the world of aviation. The engine breathes through a compact, forward-facing air filter, the sprung seat sits atop dual exhaust mufflers, and the design also incorporates retro whitewall tyres, blacked-out rear shocks and candy red paint that evokes the Swiss flag.
2022 winners, the Sardinia-based MAAN Motocicil, are back once again with a truly unique take on the GB350S. Named after the Shinto God of War, Hachimaan represents that fighting spirit and adopts a Japanese-Bobber style for an exercise in simplicity. Beneath the glistening blue paint, a number of custom components such as a bespoke hardtail frame section, low capacity peanut fuel tank, and handlebars that are devoid of clutch and brake levers, help to create a clean, uncluttered look. The ghosted flame paint work, with detailed knurled flames on the forks, suicide shifter with foot clutch, and stubby exhaust, exude custom style.
A stealthy entry inspired by road and cafe racers GRAND (B)RIX from Germany, is finished in a classic Black/Gold colour combination. Subtly modified, the bike features forks dropped through the yokes, lowering the front end, giving a more purposeful, sporty stance. Completing the chassis modifications are new handlebars with more aggressive angle, bar end mirrors, and grips for a harmonious look. A blacked out exhaust system, with colour coded heat wrap, adds both style and tone, while the new rear shocks add to the gold accents, and work with the tidied rear end. A custom-stitched seat completes the build.
[ Honda Customs ]