Too many miles??

Found an 87 Ninja 500 for sale by private seller. Guy says it has 198k miles on it and needs some carburetor adjustments due to the engine getting too much gas. He listed at 1000$ but will take 800$. Now to me, I would say this bike is worth maybe 400?

This thing just have too many miles to be worth ANYTHING?

http://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/738489244.html Some pics of the bike, looks in good condition.

Unless there is some REAL COMPELLING reason to assume otherwise I would say you are right.:disappoin There just has to be a lot of things that are shot, many of them for the 2nd or 3rd time and you just know it is going to need constant work and replacement of parts. Those pix are really dark and undetailed too, suspicously so. Craigs list is fairly famous for this sort of stuff so like they say. "If it looks like poo, smells like poo you can just about figure it is gonna taste like poo" , do you want a taste?
A guy I work with just gave me a 83 500 Virago with 54K miles last winter. It had sat under a tarp for 7 years and the carbs still won't come apart to rebuild though they have been soaking for a week. Still the price was right isn't it? Another guy I work with just found an 81 650 Maxim for $200 sitting in his neighbors garage. I think it has 25K on it and needed a brian box $35 ebay to keep running a tad of weld on the pipes and some major scrubbing and a $10 side cover. He missed a $900 450 1981 Yamaho twin that a guy had gotten for his wife fixed up and she never rode. It had something like 9K miles on it and seriously looked like it was 5 years old. I toss those out there just as a reference for the stuff that is out there if you keep looking and digging without a need to "have it right now"! Keep looking and maybe if you just love that Ninja go wave $300 in his face and then hold back the other $100 as a final bid and if he doesn't take it take a walk. Personally I would just keep lookin .......................

198k on a 500 is a huge amount of miles. that bike is done, find something more useable.