CycleKarting: Extreme Vintage Go-Karting

You can't buy a CycleKart and, even if you could, the racers wouldn't let you participate. You have to build your CycleKart. It's one of the many reasons this is a very cool hobby.

This coolest niche of karting we'd never heard of takes its inspiration from the bareknuckle Cycle Cars of the very early years of racing, which featured ultra-light construction and a goosed motorcycle engine. The hobby is sort of a revolt against high-dollar, huge horsepower racing, choosing to celebrate the camaraderie and creativity of the sport. CycleKarting clubs are invite-only, so they can keep ultra-competitive types out and make sure things stay light and fun. It's meant to be gritty and raw with the satisfaction coming not from winning, but rather tearing ass around a bumpy field in a cool little car you've built.

CycleKarts scale vintage race cars down to the minimum, with styling modeled after race cars through the late 1930's and maximum dimensions of 98" by 40" with weight no more than 200 lbs. Power comes from a 200 cc, 6.5 HP Honda motor and a CVT hanging over and driving the rear wheels. Total build price shouldn't be more than $1750. They're go-karts, but with miles of style. The specs aren't the important part of CycleKarting though, it's more in the building and good-natured fun. Add this to our ever-lengthening list of things we want to do some day. (Thanks for the tip Ken) [CycleKart]

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