Motorcycle Repair: 1974 honda cb550 not running?, fuse holder, turn signals

Question
I have a 1974 honda cb550 that will not run.... it use to run great but started having problems so I cleaned carbs and changed points a few years back to fix problems...the bike has been stored for about a year and I recently started trying to get it running again. which brings me to my first question...can I start this bike with the kickstart without a battery? I tried that and noticed spark plugs werent sparking so I changed spark plugs checked that the points werent sticking and charged the battery and put the battery in the bike...but every time i would turn the ignition key on the light would come on and go right back off and then it would blow a fuse and battery would drain...so im guessing theres a wire somewhere touching? could it be possibly be from not hooking up tailight and turn signals properly? but not sure where else to look..someone told me to change rectifier but dont want to spend money on a part that might not fix problem.... I then replaced the fuse and tried kicking engine over and its not even trying to start...not sure what else to try... the fuse that is blowing is the one on the farthest left. Im guessing that points are still good and im still not getting spark...im no mechanic and dont have very much money to spend on the bike so im really desperate on a solution...would really appreciate input on these answers..thanks

Answer
Josh, you have to fix the short first.  The bike must have a charged battery to run.  Start by unplugging the system you think is the causing the problem.  If the fuse doesn't blow you've isolated the problem.  The recitifier can drain the battery but won't cause the fuse to blow.  If you look in the inside of the side cover or on the fuse holder you will see a description of the circuit that fuse is for.  That will help you identify which circuit to unplug.

Regards
Rich