Kawasaki Forums - Bad ignition coils?

Hey,
I'm new to this forum (and motorcycling) and was hoping some of the more experienced members here could give me some advice on a potential mechanical problem.
I'm looking to buy my first bike and one candidate is a 1981 KZ1000 CSR. Part of what I want to learn is how to work on a bike and troubleshoot it, so I'm not afraid of putting a little work in-- but for the price I'm looking at paying for this one, I'd expect one that runs or only needs minimum work/parts.
Now the seller told me it ran great before he garaged it a couple years ago and now it doesn't run but it "just needs new coils".
I've been screwed by sellers claiming their used products just need one part when the whole thing's messed up before, so I was a little wary of this. I've done some research and it doesn't seem like coils are the most likely candidate to go bad when a bike's just sitting there, let alone multiple coils at once. Plus, it doesn't seem like it would be that easy to diagnose because there are other reasons for not getting a spark. So I'm concerned that when this guy says it'll definitely run if it just has new coils, he's not being 100% honest with me.
Any thoughts on this? I'd very much appreciate the wisdom of anyone here with some experience!

Thanks!