Campagna Motors, Makers Of The T-Rex, Shuts Down

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

Company President bids farewell, but hints at a possible future for the brand

If there’s one thing that gets motorcycle riders – and Motorcycle.com readers – worked up, it’s the debate about whether a three-wheeler is considered a motorcycle or not. If you’re one of the haters, this news might brighten up your day: Campagna Motors, the company best known for producing the T-Rex, is shutting down.

In a Facebook post dated January 10, 2019, now former company president Andre Morissette announced the company had been facing financial struggles recently, leading to the bank taking ownership of its assets. See the post below:

The post reads:

To all our customers, dealers, fans and friends out there.

Today marks the end of Campagna Motors as we know it.

Because we were not able to secure the appropriate funding to secure our proposal to creditors accepted this last november, the bank decided to secure its position and took ownership of our assets today.

It will have been a pleasure and an honor to work with you, to serve you and to spend the last 15 years of my life in this amazing adventure. It ends here and now for me unfortunately. I will be moving on in my life but from what I know today, I am hopefull that the next owers of this venture will continue to innovate and create the exceptionnal product that we have been making since 1988.

To the future adventurers that will take the leadership in the future I whish you the best of luck. I was always very proud of our vehicles that represent so well the real nature of Quebec and quebecers: audacious, unique, different and creative out of the box stuff.

Farewell my friends and long live our products.

Andre Morissette
Former president

Interestingly, while Morissette says he’s personally stepping away, he seems to strongly hint at the possibility of new owners and investors picking up the Campagna pieces and continuing the company.

Whatever your stance on three wheels is, we’ve personally enjoyed our time testing the T-Rex 16SP, T-Rex 16S, and V13R (even if former E-i-C Kevin Duke doesn’t think these are motorcycles). They provide a fun and rare experience for thrill seekers who want to step away from their cars, but maybe have no interest in maintaining their own balance on two wheels. Seeing another company in the powersports industry go under is never easy to swallow, and from the sound of things, it appears as though we may be hearing the Campagna name again in the future. Here’s hoping this is the case.

Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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  • BTRDAYZ BTRDAYZ on Jan 22, 2019

    A 3 wheel car is a hard sell for me when Miatas exist. The CanAm Spyder and Ryker, however, make perfect sense to me as as alternative fun vehicle to a true motorcycle or Miata Roadster.

  • Afi Keita James Afi Keita James on Jan 25, 2019

    this will always be best known as the ruff ryders motorcycle, this company will be missed by all of the fans of the hip-hop.

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