Although laser headlights have already been present in the automotive world for around ten years, but exclusively for luxury cars, only BMW in 2016 with the K1600GT, offers the presence of a laser headlight. The advantage of this technology is all in the depth of illumination, the disadvantage so far has been the really significant production cost (which also affects the chance of replacement in the event of an accident) and then the weight, which is also excessive, especially in a ‘peripheral’ area of the bike. In short, everything to date has convinced the world’s leading manufacturers to embrace LED light technology, which is cheaper, lighter and sufficiently effective.
However, Yamaha has recently registered some very interesting patents, which could really give a boost to a very seductive technology. To think that a laser headlamp can increase the depth of illumination to around 600 meters, far beyond any other technology, is quite astonishing.
The idea is simple and therefore creative. If the problem was the weight and cost of each individual laser bulb, Yamaha imagined and patented a system in which a single laser is installed in the center of the bike, in a central area, close to the bike’s center of gravity; from here, various optical connections will carry the illumination to each individual user, front lights, rear lights, indicators, dashboard. Everything that needs lighting, whether for service or to illuminate the road, can rely on an extremely effective and efficient light “generator”.
Although it is likely that future lighting systems will use a mixed system of LEDs and lasers to take advantage of the short-range effectiveness of the former and the incredible depth of action of the latter, the benefits are not limited to the actual increase in system efficiency. In fact, there seems to be a real possibility of limiting the overall weight of the bike, especially in areas far from the center of gravity, with benefits in terms of handling and overall performance.