Honda Customs Go Back to Biarritz: GB350S Headlines
The focus of Honda’s annual Wheels and Waves custom competition is the eminently good Honda GB350S
Honda is bringing it customs back to Biarritz this summer, with the return of Hondacustoms.com at the 2025 Wheels and Waves festival.
This time, the spotlight is firmly on the GB350S, the firm’s latest entry into the retro-naked segment that’s already proving to be a bit of a dark horse in the sales charts.
You can read our 2025 Honda GB350S review here.
From June 11 to 15, festivalgoers at the surf-and-scramblers mecca will get the chance to see eleven one-off custom builds from seven different countries, all based on the GB350S platform. The bikes, built by Honda dealers and independent customisers, will also be duking it out for public approval in an online vote at hondacustoms.com, where fans can crown Europe’s favourite GB350S custom.
And there’s plenty to play for. Honda’s custom competition isn’t just for show. Now in its sixth year, it has grown into a hybrid digital and real-world battle of the builds, with over 25,500 people voting online last year (up 18 per cent on 2023) and a further 7,000 downloading phone and desktop wallpapers of their favourite creations.
The GB350S takes over as this year’s base bike, a machine that might not boast big numbers on paper, but has struck a chord with European riders. It’s already the seventh best-selling naked bike across the continent. No small feat for a humble, air-cooled single.
Past contests have showcased an impressively broad swathe of Honda machinery: from the CB1000R in 2020, through the CB650R, CMX500 Rebel and mini-moto trio of the Dax, Grom and Monkey, to last year’s CL500 and CL250 customs, which ranged from off-road ready to outright bonkers.
This year’s entrants promise to continue that rich vein of creativity, with Spain and Portugal’s Dream Garage customs leading the charge as the first bikes previewed ahead of the event. The rest, from countries including the UK, France, and Italy, will be unveiled on June 12th, when the voting also opens.
Expect the usual mix of slick cafe builds, bratstyle bobbers, and the kind of artistic flair that makes you forget you’re looking at a 21bhp single-cylinder commuter. Whether you’re heading to Biarritz or just browsing from your desk, it’s well worth a look, and maybe even a cheeky vote.
Check out all the custom builds when they go live on the official website.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
