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If you know nothing about bikes and want somethign to wrench on/learn, then no, not at all.
If you're looking for a bike to ride, then buy one that needs nothing (it'll cost you more, but that's paying to save yourself the frustration of having to Work on a bike instead of Ride a bike ~ very much worth the cost).
If you know something about carbs and small engine mechanics from older cars, ATVs, lawnmowers, etc... it's not much different. They need to be cleaned, and there's no replacement for experience here. You can't just toss them into some chemical and have them magically be perfect. Carbs-off is an indicator that the bike wasn't running right and the owner got in over their head. There's probably something messed up, most likely something broken/missing, and you'll have to know how to reassemble without having seen it disassembled... again, things will likely be missing. You have to have enough knowledge to evaluate it before purchase and make the decision for yourself. And just because the carbs are off doesn't mean that the issue wasn't something else, like a seized engine...
You've heard the old saying "if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it"? Well, this is the cousin of that saying, if you have to ask if you should stay away, you should stay away.
I've seen WAY too many new riders completely turned off from riding simply because they tried to cheap out and buy a "needs work" bike for their first. For the decade I moderated a new-rider forum, it was Easily half of all the riders that came through. Don't do it if you're looking to ride. But, it might be an okay deal (right now is the WORST time to buy a bike) if you're looking to learn about mechanics.... better to wait till the fall when college starts back and kids start off-loading their summer toys, or even better to wait till January when all the X-mas bills come due.
Maybe, maybe not. Why the original owner didn't put them back in is a question. Most "older bikes" with carbs out are so cheap the owner didn't find it worth his time even bothering. I mean like a 1984 Virago or some other craptastic bike worth maybe $500.
Were I to do such a thing, same day I'd buy a rebuild kit. The exist for most bikes, still. Taking something like that appart is easy, with the right solvents, a big bucket, and willingness to really clean the garbage out and replace a lot of seals. I've done several times.
Next is jetting, and starting at stock settings isn't a bad idea. How to jet correctly depends where you are in the throttle range, and other variables. Ideally should be done w/a dyno, but may be too much work. I've winged that a few times and didn't get it right, but the me of today would get close as we're talking precision work, but not tons of it.
A way to synch the carbs is something wish I'd had way back when, but about then fuel injection was becoming common (c. 2003) so not needed. Tuning with a Power Commander or similar is a vastly different story.
Depends how much work OP wants to put in. I'd pass, unless it was a real rolling classic like an old CB750, Kawi Z1, or something else that actually mattered.
I've seen WAY too many new riders completely turned off from riding simply because they tried to cheap out and buy a "needs work" bike for their first. For the decade I moderated a new-rider forum, it was Easily half of all the riders that came through. Don't do it if you're looking to ride.
Hahah... yeah. When I first started riding back in the 90's I bought used late 70's early 80's bikes and was having to do some kind of mechanic work every other time I rode.
Now I'm 45 and bought a new one because I don't want to deal with all that... I just want to get on it and go. Fuel injection... ABS... TC... no more chokes for those cold starts... love it.
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