Motorcycle Repair: Front strut on 1983 Honda CM450E?, winter advice, pant leg

Question
I rode my cycle every day last week 40 miles to work during the dry, warm week.  I wore the same heavy pants each day.  By the end of the week, I found my left pant leg was spattered with droplets... possibly oily.  I parked the bike and on Saturday noticed that a liquid was coating the left side (as I sit on the bike) of the front "fork".  {The handlebars connect down to the front axel through a pair of tubes or columns, right? Are these shock absorbers or struts?  The left one appears wet at the top, but the right side one is dry in the same spot.  Is this a symptom of a serious problem?  What should I do?  I'd like to get at least another month of riding in before retiring the bike for the winter. Advice please?

Answer
Hi Kirk,

You are referring to your front 'forks'. It sounds like you have a leaky fork seal. The dampening system on front forks, in its basic form, consists of springs and a very light oil. The oil is held in the fork by a oil seal that sits where your inner fork meets the outer fork.

It is dangerous to drive with a leaky for seal. The leaking oil can get on your brakes, causing them to fail and/or your front tire, causing it to lose traction.

I would get both of them replaced as soon as possible (you should do both at the same time, whether right one is leaking or not).