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Rumor Has It: Yamaha’s Into Lasers

Patents Show More Affordable, Single-Source Lighting System

Laser lights used in BMW's cars (and a member of the team that developed the tech). Media provided by BMW Blog.
Laser lights used in BMW's cars (and a member of the team that developed the tech). Media provided by BMW Blog.

Yamaha is working on a laser lighting patent that could bring the Powersports industry that much closer to units used by the likes of BMW’s i8 and Audi’s R8. 

So far, Ben Purvis’s findings on CycleWorld cite lasers to be a less popular option for bikes due to the cost of the things. With this new patent, however, Yamaha could very well succeed at lighting everything with a single laser source, chopping manufacturing prices and making the tech more feasible for our beloved two-wheeled machines. 

Yamaha patent blueprint showing side profile of a Yamaha motorcycle.
View of the new laser lighting technology that Yamaha’s developing. Media provided by Ben Purvis’s coverage on CycleWorld.

As for how Yamaha will integrate the tech, Purvis goes into further detail below: 

The idea is to position a single laser somewhere in the center of the bike and to use fiber optic cable to take the light it emits to where it’s needed, whether that’s the headlight, taillight, license-plate lamp, or even the turn signals or the instrument panel lights.”

– Ben Purvis (CycleWorld)

Based on the patent filing images, the source of the laser will be under the saddle and will branch out via fiber optic cables to wherever it’s needed (in this case, the front and back lighting systems). 

View of the new laser lighting technology that Yamaha's developing. Media provided by Ben Purvis's coverage on CycleWorld.
View of the new laser lighting technology that Yamaha’s developing. Media provided by Ben Purvis’s coverage on CycleWorld.

While Yamaha’s filings suggest that there is potential for the tech to be integrated into future bike lineups, BMW’s experience with lasers has been off-and-on at best. Purvis prices laser lighting systems to be in the thousands for a single source, making this tech more of a luxury than a functional necessity.

BMW K 1600 GTL concept bike front view
A frontal view of the laser lighting system used in BMW’s K 1600 GTL concept vehicle. Media provided by BMW Motorrad.

Couple this with the fact that BMW’s one laser-lit bike – the K1600 GTL – made an eventual move to LEDs, and we think that this patent will sit tight until a more… opulent opportunity comes along. 

Do you think laser lighting in a motorcycle is a good idea?

*Media sourced from CycleWorld, BMW Blog, and BMW Motorrad*