Wow thanks for all the detailed replies! Seems like a great community here. So it seems like the consensus is that it's probably not a great idea since there's probably more wrong with it under the uh...seat than the seller is letting on. Shame
On a side note, does anyone here know a good place to get a ninja other than Craigslist or Cycletrader? If I can get the bike for under say $1500 I could possibly piece together the money to buy it now instead of having waste money on an interim scooter. But the lowest price I can find on those two sites is about $2000.