Motorcycle Repair: engine cuts out, yamaha seca ii, two choices

Question
I own a 1995 yamaha seca II. It ran fine when I got it but I am in the army and deployed for a year when I got home I changed the oil and cleaned the spark pluggs. The bike starts fine but when I put it in gear it dies. any help would be appreciated

Answer
Welcome home, little brother.

You have run afoul of the most annoying and insidious plagues to befall bikers.........the faulty sidestand cutoff switch (insert horror sound effect here).

This is a common issue.  The sidestand cutoff switch is usually the first thing to go on a bike.  You have two choices;

1) Bypass it.

2) Replace it.

Bypassing it is easy.  Just cut the switch off and connect two of the three wires together.  It may take a bit of experimentation to find the right two wires to splice together, but it won't take more than about 5 - 10 minutes.

Good luck and ride safe.
FALCON