A Go-Kart With a Harley-Davidson Engine? Why Not?

By Erik Sherman - May 3, 2026

One go-kart plus one Harley-Davidson Sportster engine equals one unnecessarily awesome little ride.

There are bad ideas. And then there are ideas so wonderfully bad and twisted that they seamlessly become good. Awesome, even. That’s where a go-kart with a Harley-Davidson heart comes in. The crew at CarsandCameras took a “clapped-out racing go-kart” and came up with the brilliant move to swap a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 engine into it. Well, they think it’s a 1200 cc engine. It could be an 883 engine. Or an 883 with a 1200 kit. Can you say 45 degrees of “why the hell not?”

The kart started this journey with a 713 cc V-twin mill, and that was already enough to make your inner Mario Kart competitiveness flare up. That engine tipped the scales at about 110 pounds. Adding the vibration-happy Evolution Sportster engine, however, would bump that up to 200 pounds, nearly twice as much heft. Not to mention a lot more stress. But before the team could even start Dr. Frankenstein-ing the Harley-Davidson engine into place, they had to sort a few things.

‘This is going to be irresponsible, for sure’

“My guess is the frame’s busted,” they concluded as they made the pre-transplant go-kart twerk.

A cracked spindle and a thoroughly cracked frame prompted the crew to beef everything up. Not just to make it safe-ish again, but to handle the extra demand of twice the weight and power. Of course, that was far from the only issue. To name one: the sprocket attached to the five-speed transmission wasn’t aligned with the rear axle and was blocked by the stock wheel and tire, meaning fabrication, fabrication, fabrication.

Needless to say, prepping the clapped-out kart for a Harley-Davidson engine wasn’t as simple as lifting an engine into place and bolting it in. By the time the team was finished transforming the kart (and done with the ‘Brotherrrrrrr brub brub brub’ and oil leak jokes), it was riding on cartoonish knobby tires and packing a hilariously out-of-place Sportster V-twin. And the finished product is just as ridiculous as you might expect. Don’t take our word for it, though; you can check out the full video for yourself below!