1992 R100GS starter clack - engine doesn't turn.

[sidkn33]

Everything was normal, parked up bike and left for 2-3 days.
Went to start it and there is only a single click/clack sound from the solendoid AND if I hold the starter button for more than a couple of seconds, smoke starts to emit from the short cable that connects the solenoid to the starter motor itself.

I had a newish Motobatt battery to begin with, but replaced that under warranty as it was dropping to 7v on starter button press.
The new battery did not fix the problem and anyway, the above smoking indicates to me that the starter may have seized - would that be likely and I wonder why with no sign of an issue, (the bike started fine every time with a bit of choke), suddenly my starter would fail without warning?

The bike has about 35k miles on it and is in generally very tidy condition - the starter motor is quite dirty but there isn't much corrosion evident.

If my deduction is correct and the motor is bad, is DIY repair likely or should I just fork out for new/refurbished?

Thanks for any input.

(on a more positive note, I discovered that my (rare) kick start works and works far more readily than I had been lead to believe!)

 

[Posh Pete]

Pull the starter motor and strip it down. It may be the magnets have detached from the body or the brushes need replacing or the solenoid. Since you have a kick starter, you can still use the bike if you take suitable precautions with the starter cables? (Others may disagree! )

 

[sidkn33]

Pull the starter motor and strip it down. It may be the magnets have detached from the body or the brushes need replacing or the solenoid. Since you have a kick starter, you can still use the bike if you take suitable precautions with the starter cables? (Others may disagree! )

I pulled the motor and it's farkled in some way or another, the cog pushes forward to engage but doesn't spin.
I've ordered a replacement - thanks for the input anyway.