I ran the stock lever and perch for several years, despite the fact that the R&L didn't match. Front disc brake required removal of the welded-on perch. Started out with a Jincheng clutch cable. I ended-up fabbing my own clutch cable, from scratch. Eventually, I replaced the clutch lever & perch assembly with OEM Honda Nice...along with the clutch cable. That cable is just long enough. I'd have simply fabbed another cable but, the Teflon-coated inner cable provides silky-smooth action. FYI, the OEM Nice clutch cable cannot be used with the CT70H lever & perch...in case you're wondering.
I’ve ordered new fork seals to replace them once I pull the forks down. In your experience do the fork stanchions need to be rechromed ? Are there any tricks to pulling down the 72 model forks?
Rechroming the inner fork legs is a can of worms. Below the seal-swept area, OD is high-precision/tight tolerance. Plating thickness varies greatly. As long as a seal-swept area, and lower, is free of pitting, you're fine. Usually, the rust is surface rust and above the seal-swept area only. I polish the exposed portions of the inner fork legs, then clearcoat or/and grease them. Those can be fine-sanded/wire-brushed/Scotchbrited & painted. Anything that seals-out oxygen & moisture will keep the rust monkey at bay.
As for teardown, just remove the snaprings retaining the oil seals. Then wrap the leg with a rag and use the lower like a slide hammer to drive the seal out. Do not remove the screws inside the axle flanges or you'll create a leak that's fiendishly difficult to stop.