Adapting VFR1200 engine to a go kart/buggy

Hi all,
I have an opportunity to procure a 2010 engine for cheap. As the title says Im thinking of making a buggy/kart out of this, maybe with some intake restrictions. I think I can just find and stick a sprocket on the splined output drive, worst case scenario will source a driveshaft just to extract the female spline input and weld a sprocket to that.

I have 2 questions:

Can the engine run without the cluster?

Is the cluster tied/matched to the specific ECU?

And more generally, appreciate if anyone can tell we why this is a very bad idea/very difficult and why.

 

Fair play mate, I think it’s a great idea
I’ve been toying with the idea of a bike-engined kart / car project for a while now. As a VFR12F owner I’ve often thought of using the motor, although I don’t fancy raping my lovely bike to do it! So it sounds (to me at least) like you are in a dream position mate
Apologies I don’t have the answer to either your questions regarding cluster / ecu ‘hand shake’ (if indeed there is one). I’ve been involved in quite a few projects involving donor engines and getting them to work where they were never designed to.
Before starting the project you should really give it a test fire. Good fuel, air and a decent batt should be all it needs. If there is some secret little ecu handshake then it might be something that might be overcome with the wiring diagram and some wire to loop out terminals.
Best of luck with the project mate and let us all know how you get on


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I wouldn’t have thought there would be any inherent issue that would rule the VFR12 engine out for such a project. So long as an output shaft is in place (orientated with this driveline in mind) and clear of fouling a sprocket gear could be welded to provide drive via a chain. Better yet, have an output shaft with sprocket manufactured to your spec. It’s unlikely to break the bank (hundreds not thousands) and it’ll have a greater chance of working first time and not become the Achilles heal of the machine.
I think the sound from a V4 and the characteristics of a bike engine would make for a wicked little Frankenstein machine


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On the minus side I note from youtube videos that the 1200 doesnt sound anywhere near as good as the 800; probably because of that different firing order.