Motorcycle Repair: 1982 Yamah 750 Maxim - Engine cuts out, faulty side, yamaha 750

Question
I have a 1982 Yamaha 750 Maxim with 60,000 miles on it. It runs absolutely great with one exception: The power just cuts out. Very intermittent. I can ride all day with no problems or I can ride two miles and it cuts out. Almost like the kill switch activates. Either riding 35 mph or 80 mph. I can grab the clutch and hit the start button and it fires back up without missing a beat. As you can imagine, it is rater unnerving going down a freeway and having the engine quit. I do not lose any electrical connections: all the lights work. No problems with cold or hot starts. I checked the timing and it is dead on. Like I said, this is really intermittent, but recently I am getting backfires on accel. Just one bang, and that's it. Any suggestions where I should start looking for the problem?

Answer
Tim,

-a few things could cause this, one is a bad fuel
petcock that starves the fuel occasionally.
-weak battery or dirty connectors or grounds.
These bikes like lots of voltage or the coils can cut out.
-faulty side stand switch.
-ignition pulser failing.
-backfire may be lean fuel or ignition cutting out/in
because of the above problems.
A loose connection or wire to the ignition module
can cause this also.