Depending on the ignition setup it might need to see a 12V source to function.
I had an 83 Nighthawk that was like that. The charging system was caput (needed a new rotor, no magnatism). Worked fine until the battery got down around 8V or so, then the bike would just shut off.
A hung up powervalve will make an engine a bit harder to start, but not impossible. Had it happen before on an old bike, valve itself split longways and jammed open. Took a few extra kicks to get it going, and it had zero bottom end power!