my right side of my fork is like leaking bad...is it still safe to ride? how much would it usually cost to replace and how hard is it??

 

I can be dangerous if the oil is leaking onto the tire which happens a lot. The other thing is that the bike won't perform as well because the fork(s) are not operating with sufficient fluid.
It isn't hard to replace the seals. I highly recommend going with Honda seals instead of an aftermarket set. To save money, you can just do the side that is leaking although it is recommended to do both sides. After you have removed the fork from the bike, all you need to do the forks is a 24mm wrench, 14mm wrench, flat head screw drive, fork seal driver, and a 5mm allen wrench. If you use a 5mm allen socket, it makes a lot easier!
1. Take the 24mm wrench and break loose the cap. Unscrew the cap off and then dump the oil.
2. Remove the retainer that is holding the spring in place. Remove the spring.
3. Turn the fork upside down and take your allen wrench or allen socket and break loose the srew. You will see a little hole on the bottom of the lower for tube which passes through where the axel would be.
4. Remove the dampener.
5. Remove the dust seal. There is a little clip that you will have to remove with a flat head.
5. Now push the upper fork tube all the way down in to the fork leg. Pull the upper tube out as fast and as hard as you can. You will have to do this several times. You will begin to see the seal slowly move out (good sign). What it get to the end, be a little gentler so that you don't damage the tubes or forks when the two halves break free. It's kinda like pulling something towards you and when all of a sudden there is no resistance, you get yourself in the face. Same thing when the two halves come apart.
6. Clean the parts off of the old oil. You will also have to pump out the old oil out of the dampener.

Once the parts have been cleaned, you pretty much assemble everything back in the reverse order. You will have to use the fork seal driver to set the lower seal in place. Make sure to put a little film or oil on both the inside and out side surfaces. Take the seal drive and pound the seal in place. You will know it is in place because you will hear a definite difference in the sound when you drive it in. If you have more specific questions because I was a little too vague, let me know.

 

Good thread!!a++

 

If you don't fix it soon it will get in the radiator and collect dirt and will cause your bike to run hot also.

 

When I first got my 95, both fork seals were leaking onto my front brake rotor and tire. It did affect the braking and it was a bit scary knowing there's oil on my brakes.

 

wow ya that doesnt sound good...i was looking around is this what i need to fix it?? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda...Q5fAccessories

 

That is what you'll need but I would go with a set from Honda. I've seen several threads on here where the guy bought the aftermarket and they leaked worse than the old seals. They are about $10 more a set and you'll need two sets (about $50). To get the seals, you can order them online (http://hondaparts-direct.com is one) or at a local dealer. There was something I forgot to say earlier, on the 95-96 forks, there is a little spring wrapped around a little ball. It is easy for the little ball to fall out when you remove the fork cap. This set up is not on the 97-98 forks.

 

I had the same problem with my F3 when i got it. The shops i called around were gonna charge me an arm n a leg for the seals that cost $35. I found a good set of oil and dust seals(a reputable aftermarket) on ebay and went with oem bushings and finished it up last weekend. It wasnt that bad (n im no mechanic) but just take your time get all your tools and especially the manual and lay everything out. The seals are holding up nicely i cant remember the brand name but i looked em up n ran it by some other people first.