By day, Shawn Lin creates concept art for the gaming industry?a space where fantasy and science fiction reign supreme. But the motorcycle he rides in the real world is cut from a different cloth. While Shawn’s designs are edgy and futuristic, his bike is a decidedly classic?and may we say elegant?Honda CB350 café racer.
Shawn is based in Taiwan?one of the few countries in which you can still get a new Honda CB350. Marketed there as the Honda H’ness CB350, it’s the cutest single-cylinder modern classic that you can’t buy in Europe or the USA. With 21 hp from its 348.4 cc motor, it’ll hardly set your hair on fire, but it’s just as handsome as modern classics more than twice its size (and price).

This 2021-model CB350 has all the trimmings of a traditional Honda café racer, but still retains a surprising amount of stock parts. There’s been no hacking of frames or binning of fenders here?just a handful of well-judged mods that go a long way to refining the already attractive CB. ?My design philosophy is rooted in an endless nostalgia for bygone eras,? Shawn tells us. ?The customization of this motorcycle was not just a yearning for retro style; it was a profound engagement with the art of craftsmanship. The distinctive Honda emblem on the tank, married with the classic lines of the CB350, pays homage to the elegance of British motorcycles and the refinement of Japanese craftsmanship.?

Since Shawn’s a designer by trade, he ...