Well....after 3 riding seasons of bliss, i've finally had to call for a ride home.  was coming around a turn and geared down to stop at a set of lights i noticed it acted weird gearing down.  put it in neutral at the lights, went to pull away at the lights put the bike in gear and it stalled....will start but when i put it in gear it stalls out...i've played with the kickstand switch, the stand was up the whole time. clutch cable seems alright. its an 89 with 57xxx kms

suggestions?

clutch switch?

Check the side stand switch and wiring. Could be bad switch.
Clutch switch only affects starting. Only the side stand switch kills the bike when going into gear.
If you can't start bike unless in neutral, then it is the side stand switch or wiring.
Side stand down prevents starting unless in neutral.
Try shorting it and see what happens or check it with a meter.

^^^ that's what I originally thought too but he said he'd checked it. I still think it's prolly the problem.

Depends on what he means by "played with the switch".
Just fiddling to see it is pushed in does not mean the switch is good. They do go bad. Wires can go bad, too.
Sounds like he is starting in neutral. Bet he can't start in gear. That would mean side stand switch or wires.
You can't start in gear even with clutch pulled in. I can't tell you how many times I can't start the bike then remember to put up the side stand (because I always park in 1st gear, I usually start bike in 1st gear so side stand must be up.)

I'm thinking the neutral switch must be gone.  I "fiddled" with the switch. i didn't take it apart....right now I'm trying to get it home as it is on the side of the road, don't want to attempt working on it on the side of a very busy street.

it won't start in gear..........

can you crank it in gear with the side stand up and clutch in? if not then its the side stand switch... if you cant crank it at all ever its probably the kill switch, if you have no power at all its the ignition or the fuse...

Your neutral switch is working as the bike knows when it goes out of neutral. You can verify this with your neutral light. You could either short the side stand switch wires together if that is bad or short the neutral switch so it thinks it is always in neutral (short neutral wire to the frame for grounding is OK, just 1 wire on an 89).
Quickie fix for side stand switch is cut wires, strip end and twist together. nail clippers, pocket knife, or anything can do that for you. Could do that to the neutral wire if that's easier to get to. Neither unplug from the switches. You can repair the wires later.

Remove seat and trace wires. Neutral is a single blue wire. You might be able to unplug it and short the wire to the frame.
Side stand goes to a relay. Possible the relay is bad. Then they both go to a diode block. Neutral switch and side stand switches both energize the relay. So if in neutral OR side stand up, relay is energized and allows bike to run. If side stand down AND not in neutral, then relay is not energized and bike stops. There is a green wire going to the relay that turns it on. The contacts of the relay should be an orange and an orange/blue wire. If those are shorted together at the relay, the bike will run. Viewing the wiring diagram helps understand this.

(FYI crzy: he has power - it dies when going out of neutral)

Just try jumping the sidestand switch wires. If it starts it's bad. If not it's something else.

Ya, what he said ^^^

up and running again. it wasn't the side stand switch....well it was and it wasn't. it was the connection. the bullet connector had come loose. I had pulled the battery out on the weekend to check the bolts on my tank.....must have bumped it. had gone back to the bike, checked the switch again....not it....traced the wires back for the switch and checked the connections the minute I touched the bullets it fell apart. BINGO! pushed them back together, shes my girl again. first time she left me walking. not bad for a 22yr old bike.

a switch and the wiring to a switch same diff :p