{"id":8851,"date":"2025-11-27T15:58:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T14:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/?p=8851"},"modified":"2025-11-27T15:58:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T14:58:49","slug":"meet-the-harley-davidson-custom-builder-living-his-childhood-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/meet-the-harley-davidson-custom-builder-living-his-childhood-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Harley-Davidson custom builder living his childhood dream"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ivan \u201cIca\u201d Vukoja started as a boy with a dream, and through determination, kindness and humility has worked to become one of the leading custom builders in Croatia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words by Ana Ivan\u010di\u010d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ica was born in the golden plains of eastern Croatia, before his parents moved the family to Germany \u2013 a safe distance from the Croatian War of Independence that divided the country in the early- to mid-1990s. While there, he encountered his first Harley-Davidson\u00ae<\/sup> and that dream of American chrome stayed with him. Once the war was over and peace returned to Croatia, so did Ica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe war traumatised all of us and changed our lives; a lot of us had to move, but our Slavonian spirit couldn\u2019t be conquered,\u201d he reflects. \u201cWe feel very connected to our region, and we\u2019re trying to bring some life to it and live our lives to the fullest.\u201d That\u2019s where Harley-Davidson comes in: the spirit of adventure, camaraderie and freedom that comes with taking to the open road, engine roaring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How it all began<\/strong>
Ica bought his first Harley\u00ae<\/sup> in 2017 and is currently the proud owner of a 2022 Street Bob\u00ae<\/sup> and a 2021 Road Glide\u00ae<\/sup>. His love for Harleys dates back to when he was just nine years old and was captured in a photograph of the young boy admiring a glistening black Electra Glide\u00ae<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven as a small kid, I knew I was going to be involved with cars and bikes,\u201d he adds. \u201cWhen I was 14 years old I wrote a letter to one of the German Harley-Davidson dealers and was ecstatic when I received a package from them with pins and stickers. Much to my delight, that shut down my older brother\u2019s teasing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trade school came next for the young Ica, which is where he picked up the nickname of \u201cShlajferica\u201d \u2013 Croatian for a grinder tool. He fell \u201cmadly in love\u201d with the device and now applies his practical skills to motorcycle customisation. He has also run events through his garage to share his passion. \u201cI\u2019ve given a lot of riders, who\u2018ve never ridden a Harley before, the chance to try it and they all fall in love,\u201d shares Ica. \u201cWe wanted to promote technical culture, the American way of life and bring the Harley story to the people of Croatia \u2013 we received some amazing feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Kustom Kulture scene<\/strong>
Ica is the proud owner of CPR Custom Garage<\/a><\/strong>, where he spends countless hours building custom Harleys. Custom building means the world to him. \u201cCPR is not just the business I\u2019d dreamt of since I was a youngster, it\u2019s my whole life \u2013 a monument I\u2019ve built for myself with the help of people who\u2019re close to me and share my love for Harley. We are one big family, so I wouldn\u2019t call this a business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He works with his good friend Tomislav Bo\u017ei\u0107 and has the full support of his wife, Sanja, whose ideas are frequently brought to life in his designs. Their two sons, Marko and Toma, also enjoy spending hours helping their dad in the workshop. \u201cThey already say they want to work in our garage when they grow up,\u201d smiles Ica, proudly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are days when I’m not in the mood, but when I come into the garage in the morning and see 20 Harleys parked in my workshop, I\u2019m proud. My heart beats faster and all the worries are forgotten,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t have working hours, it\u2019s never boring here and there are always new ideas. Harleys are totally different from other motorcycles, everyone can express their identity and personality through them, even in the smallest of details. At the big rallies, you never see two Harleys that look the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what the most important thing is when considering a custom build, Ica has a very clear priority: \u201cThe custom builder has to tell the owner\u2019s story. The owner always comes first, but our \u2018signature\u2019 has to be recognisable too. I spend a lot of time with our customers, so that I can get to know them and can express their life stories in their bikes. Some radical projects are hard to ride on the street, but I always say \u2018this is the same as love \u2013 it hurts.\u2019 I also like to compare a radical build to high-heeled shoes: you might not be comfortable or be able to run in them, but they look amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Custom build competitions<\/strong>
The first Custom Bike Show Ica competed in was at the 120TH<\/sup> Anniversary celebrations in Budapest, Hungary \u2013 and what an unforgettable experience it would become. His bike won two prizes, presented to him by Karen and Bill Davidson, a moment that meant so much to him that it\u2019s now commemorated in a tattoo on his arm, next to the names of his sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next came the 31st<\/sup> European H.O.G.\u00ae<\/sup> Rally in Medulin, Croatia, where he scooped another two prizes with two of his stunning builds. \u201cThis meant a lot to me, because I felt like a local there,\u201d he reveals. \u201cBut the most important moment for me was meeting Bill Daivdson in person and having the chance to tell him my life story, to which he listened attentively. We had a great conversation and I was over the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ica truly is living his childhood dreams, spending every day surrounded by the machines he adores as he brings creative ideas to life. \u201cI think I am one of the happiest people, because I\u2019m doing what I always wanted to, 24 hours a day,\u201d he reflects. \u201cI think about crazy new ideas and I\u2019ve got a team who supports them. I consider myself to be the richest man on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ivan \u201cIca\u201d Vukoja started as a boy with a dream, and through determination, kindness and humility has worked to become one of the leading custom builders in Croatia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-8851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-riding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8851"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8880,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851\/revisions\/8880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}