diff --git a/hw/riscv/riscv_hart.c b/hw/riscv/riscv_hart.c
index d0f3199968..6620e41cb7 100644
--- a/hw/riscv/riscv_hart.c
+++ b/hw/riscv/riscv_hart.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * Copyright (c) 2017 SiFive, Inc.
  *
- * Holds the state of a heterogenous array of RISC-V harts
+ * Holds the state of a homogeneous array of RISC-V harts
  *
  * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
  * under the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public License,
@@ -39,26 +39,33 @@ static void riscv_harts_cpu_reset(void *opaque)
     cpu_reset(CPU(cpu));
 }
 
+static void riscv_hart_realize(RISCVHartArrayState *s, int idx,
+                               char *cpu_type, Error **errp)
+{
+    Error *err = NULL;
+
+    object_initialize_child(OBJECT(s), "harts[*]", &s->harts[idx],
+                            sizeof(RISCVCPU), cpu_type,
+                            &error_abort, NULL);
+    s->harts[idx].env.mhartid = idx;
+    qemu_register_reset(riscv_harts_cpu_reset, &s->harts[idx]);
+    object_property_set_bool(OBJECT(&s->harts[idx]), true,
+                             "realized", &err);
+    if (err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, err);
+        return;
+    }
+}
+
 static void riscv_harts_realize(DeviceState *dev, Error **errp)
 {
     RISCVHartArrayState *s = RISCV_HART_ARRAY(dev);
-    Error *err = NULL;
     int n;
 
     s->harts = g_new0(RISCVCPU, s->num_harts);
 
     for (n = 0; n < s->num_harts; n++) {
-        object_initialize_child(OBJECT(s), "harts[*]", &s->harts[n],
-                                sizeof(RISCVCPU), s->cpu_type,
-                                &error_abort, NULL);
-        s->harts[n].env.mhartid = n;
-        qemu_register_reset(riscv_harts_cpu_reset, &s->harts[n]);
-        object_property_set_bool(OBJECT(&s->harts[n]), true,
-                                 "realized", &err);
-        if (err) {
-            error_propagate(errp, err);
-            return;
-        }
+        riscv_hart_realize(s, n, s->cpu_type, errp);
     }
 }