Wiring rear turn signals

First time kz owner, broadening my horizons a bit from just owning old Honda CB's.

We have a semi-basket case '77 kz650C, with a mess of wiring issues. The rear turn signals have been ripped off, and were wondering if they need to be present in order to complete the circuit and have power to the rest of the bike? Until we get new turn signals, could we just wire the return wires to the appropriate connectors to complete the circuit? Is this even necessary?

Just trying to narrow down the search for electrical gremlins, starting with the easy stuff first. Thanks, any advice much appreciated.

Turn signals are a "load" which means they go to ground. They don't power anything else. Tape off the wires and you should be OK. However, the front tturn signals may light without flashing if the rears are not connected because the flasher requires the current of two bulbs to make it flash.

If you need electrical connectors, there are several websites to look at:
1. www.easternbeaver.com (funny name, good stuff)
2. www.vintageconnections.com
3. www.electricalconnection.com
4. www.electerm.com
5. www.wiringproducts.com
6. www.z1enterprises.com

Do you have a wiring diagram? If not, here's a link to one for your bike. Move your cursor to the lower right corner of the image to enlarge (you'll see a yellow box with blue arrows when you're in the right spot). Ed

KZ650C1 Wiring Diagram

That's awesome. I forgot to say kz650C, perfect. They must have been rationing ink when they printed our Clymer manual. Fantastic.

Apparently, our electrical woes lie elsewhere. Thanks for the tips. The mystery of our dead kz lives on. Just can't seem to get any electrical flow going. Good battery, checked all the connections, not sure where to begin next. Besides cleaning all the connections, what would be a good starting point for diagnosing our problems? There does not seem to be any obvious wires not connected...

Did you check the fueses?
It might be a good idea to clean the fuse connections.

I'd start by checking the output side of each of the fuses to make sure juice is flowing through them. They are the the glass tube type, and sometimes even though they look ok there is a break inside where the cap attaches to the fuse strip. Ed

Good advice. PO rewired one of the fuses (the last one on the right) with a flat, "chip" fuse like you see in cars. That might also explain some of the troubles we're having, not sure if its a sound wiring method. Will update.

New Fuse boxes can be purchased for little cost at some of the vendors sites that advertise in the vendor section. Given the age of the fuse boxes in our bikes a lot of times it is an easy solution for the price. Remove old box and plug in the new one and volia, gremlins go away.