Honda CB750 Hornet-Based ‘Mugen’ Wins 2026 Honda Customs Contest

Portugal’s Mototrofa takes the Honda Customs title with its CB750 Hornet build after receiving 24% of more than 42,000 votes.

Subscribe to our Instagram channel for the latest info and news!

Honda has announced “Mugen”, a custom-built CB750 Hornet created by Portuguese Honda dealer Mototrofa, as the winner of this year’s Honda Customs contest in Europe.

The winning build secured 24% of the more than 42,000 votes cast by the public, giving Mototrofa its second Honda Customs victory after previously winning the competition in 2021 with its CB650R-based Fénix.

Mugen was developed around Honda’s CB750 Hornet and draws inspiration from the brand’s motorsport heritage. Rather than directly replicating a racing motorcycle, Mototrofa’s creative team aimed to create a design that communicates performance through a cleaner and more purposeful appearance.

According to the team, the entire project was completed in just six weeks. Experience from its previous winning build helped the team streamline the development process, although considerable time was spent designing, manufacturing and testing the custom components. The paintwork and graphics were among the more challenging aspects of the project. Mototrofa wanted to retain the original identity of the CB750 Hornet while introducing a minimalist design that would give the motorcycle a distinct Mugen character.

The build features a range of custom components, including aerodynamic parts beneath the headlight manufactured from genuine carbon fibre. The motorcycle also receives suspension modifications, a redesigned rear section and other custom details aimed at giving it a more aggressive and dynamic appearance.

Mototrofa said the modifications were developed around the principle that form should follow function, with each change intended to contribute to the motorcycle’s overall sporty character. The Portuguese dealer also praised the CB750 Hornet as a strong base for customisation, highlighting its aggressive styling and the flexibility it offers builders.

For its next Honda project, the Mototrofa team said it would like to work with the CB1000F, potentially exploring the model’s retro-inspired design language in a future custom build. However, there are currently no plans announced for Mugen to be exhibited in Japan.

The Off-Road category was won by Italy’s Saharja, a Dakar-inspired build based on the XL750 Transalp by DRS Custom Cycles. It received more than 4,800 votes, accounting for 36% of the votes in the category.

Saharja features a custom navigation tower with a digital road book and TFT display, HRC-inspired colours, redesigned front lighting, handguards, steel protection bars and an aluminium skid plate. The build also adds auxiliary fuel tanks, knobby tyres and a high-mounted exhaust to reinforce its rally-inspired character.

In the On-Road category, Spain’s Last Lap finished second with more than 6,900 votes, followed by Poland’s Sting Honey. France’s Ocean Nomad also featured among the category’s podium finishers with its coastal and surf-inspired design.

Ocean Nomad combines ocean blue, ivory and burnt orange paintwork with removed fairings, an old-school headlight, a short exhaust and custom US-style licence plates. The build also includes a side-mounted surfboard rack carrying matching skate and surfboards.

A total of 42,119 votes were recorded across the competition. On-Road builds accounted for 28,775 votes, or 68.3%, while the Off-Road category received 13,344 votes, or 31.7%.

With its second victory, Mototrofa joins Italy’s Maan Motocicli Audaci as the only two builders to have won the Honda Customs competition twice.

The latest edition once again highlights the range of customisation possibilities offered by Honda’s motorcycle line-up, with builders across Europe transforming models for both road and off-road applications.