I can vouch for the concept of "coastal outdoor storage," causing "360 degree damage," I face that issue, being a couple blocks away from a salt-water inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. That is mostly-cosmetic, but it can corrode electrical connectors.
It appears the front tire has no tread whatsoever in its center area. It takes a long time to wear-out a front tire to that degree, easily 3-4 rear tires-worth, maybe more, depending on how you use it. That looks like a $3000 bike to me, since you will face numerous $$ issues just to bring it to a safe (tires) and presentable (seat covers, painted and alloy surfaces) condition. Any bike which doesn't run well is immediately 1/2 price on the market, to me. And if it doesn't run at-all, that's a $500-800 'pig-in-a-poke' for me, I would never spend any-more than that because a replacement engine is easily $1000+ in most cases. If it runs well, starts right up, and doesn't overheat after sitting at idle for 15 minutes, does a 'hot-engine start' w/no issues, and doesn't jump out of any (2nd gear is weakest) gears when running hard into the throttle, has no obvious leaks around the cyl head and brakes, has no exhaust leaks (place your hand near all the individual joints, if there are any, you should be able to feel the hot gases, and it probably will be louder) and no coolant leaks, then you should be able to have a reasonable expectation of roadworthiness after replacing serviceable items like tires, a battery, any burned-out bulbs, fluid changes (coolant, brake fluid, oil) etc.
The different header pipes color means they were probably replaced at some time. It appears there is some dirt around the rt. front cylinder head by the cam plug, possibly indicating a leaking valve cover gasket. Your friendly Yamaha shop would probably cheerfully replace that for you for a $200+ bill.
He's asking $4K, but that looks like a $3K bike to me, given its condition. Remember it's a buyers' market and don't be afraid to walk-away. You can always leave him your contact info, and wait for a call. If you do that, then you have to re-examine the bike all-over again, because who-knows who-did-what to it in the interim? And if he gives you static over a re-examination, take that as your
Mechanical Guardian Angel telling you to, "RUUNNN!" (away!)
Don't forget to look under the seat to inspect the wiring for spliced wires, over heated wires, wires not secured in-place, indicating work was done, damaged connectors, & non-stock plugs in wires. The connector for the voltage regulator/rectifier, which (the R/R) is on the backside of the left passenger footpeg bracket may very likely show brown discoloration from being corroded, which can be a sign of stator problems and is an expensive fix, if you have to replace the stator and voltage regulator/rectifier. Many people eliminate this as a problem-spot by soldering the wires after removing the plug, using heat-shrink tubing to insulate the soldered splices.
Another I am considering, and will hopefully be taking a look at tomorrow.
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/mcy/4266753364.html
Also, what type of life span can I expect out of a Vmax with proper maintenance before major rebuilds are due?
