Starter Switch Short + Smoke

[Foucault_Parsons]

I have a 1973 750K3 that just recently had the right rear signal light stop working. The Bracket holding the light was pretty rusted so I took it off and cleaned it up with the dremel and the ground problem seemed to be fixed as the light worked fine now so I put it all back together. However I get everything back in its place and hit the starter button and all I got was a quick puff of white smoke from the starter switch on the bars and a blown fuse. I'm fairly certain that everything got put back together properly as the only wires I undid were the 2 bullet connectors for the signal light (in the trouble shooting process i may have switched the ground for the right and the left signal light but this shouldn't be a problem should it??)

Any help you guys could offer would be greatly appreciated, I have very little experience with electrical issues and Just want to take my new bike out on the road :(

[TOOLS1]

Since the switch, and fuse went when you hit the starter button, it would have to be the starter circuit. The turn signals are a whole different circuit. I would start looking to see if you could have shorted the starter wire to the solenoid.
TOOLS

[Foucault_Parsons]

Alright, I'll take a look for that, I'm just confused because I don't think I got anywhere near the starter circuit, just the two bullet connectors for the light

Do You think my switch is completely gone now? or am I safe to try it again after I look for the short in the starter circuit?

[Foucault_Parsons]

So I took a look at the bike tonight, took the starter switch apart just to check for damage/a possible short in there, all the connections look fine. Went down to the starter solenoid, all the wires appear fine, the connections solid and not touching anything, I am at a loss to explain this one.

If i go out and get a cheap multimeter to track this down properly how would I go about finding the short with it?

[sgtslag]

Because of the age of your bike, electrical issues may happen:  the insulation gets old, brittle, and it can break, causing shorts.  Here is a book I strongly recommend for any DIY guy, regardless of the age of your bike:  Motorcycle Electrical Systems: Troubleshooting and Repair (Motorbooks Workshop).  It will show you what tools you need (it will also show you how to make basic tools, yourself), as well as teaching you how to troubleshoot electrical problems.  It is easy to understand.

Explaining electrical troubleshooting on a forum, is tedious, and challenging.  The book will do a better job, and it has a great many color photo's, as well as color diagrams.  If you get stuck in the book, you can come back to any forum, and ask educated, detailed questions to help you through the issue.  Sorry, but I would rather empower you to become self-sufficient, in the long run, than to just give you a snippet to get you by for this event.  Cheers!