A Harley-Swapped Go-Kart Is as American Muscle as It Gets

Name: A Harley-Swapped Go-Kart Is as American Muscle as It Gets
Uploaded: 2026-04-16T11:54:09Z
Duration: 1 h 32 s
Description: The folks at CarsandCameras shoehorned a 1200cc Harley-Davidson motor into a go-kart frame, and the thin rips insanely hard.

The folks at CarsandCameras shoehorned a 1200cc Harley-Davidson motor into a go-kart frame, and the thin rips insanely hard.

1:00:32

Robbie Bacon

By: Robbie Bacon

Apr 16, at 7:54am ET

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How do you say "brooootherr" on four wheels? You get a Harley-Davidson engine and bolt it onto an old, janky go-kart with a broken frame. This can only end well, right? I usually get super hyped up for go-kart conversions, but when I saw how a 713 cc V-twin sent the go-kart flying at the start of the video, I actually thought putting a much heavier and more powerful engine in its place might be a bad idea.

The guys at CarsandCameras weighed the original engine when they took it off the go-kart, and it came in at 110 lbs. When they put the Harley engine on the scales, it was almost double that, and it puts out about double the power, too. But it isn't just the fact that the frame has to deal with so much more power and weight; it has to deal with it more violently.

The original build used an automatic gearbox, but the new build has to put up with as many clutch dumps as the chassis can handle. It's unclear just how much torque the lads send to the rear wheels because they don't even know if it's a stock 883 cc unit or a 1,200 cc. This is as DIY as it gets.

What do you think?

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Comments

With the number of cracks the lads discovered in the frame, I'd have walked away. But that's why I don't have a YouTube channel with 1.28 million subscribers. But by the time the lads beefed up the frame and put even beefier tires on it, I'd have happily driven it. Yes, I want the spoils without doing the work.

The build was extensive, and the video deserves its hour-long run time. But you'll have to watch until the end to see whether or not it was worth the effort. Spoiler alert, this thing rips.