Usually the shocks are gone and you could tell how bad they were with springs removed. The Hagons and Ikons are excellent replacements, better to spend that much to get a good shock, you won't regret the expense. Consider it a safety item like tires and a good helmet.
there are sintered caliper pads available from EBC, worth choosing.
With a lathe you can fab several things. Look up FunJimmy's Cafe Interceptor build, nice resto mod front end.
You could do that hub work and earn a few $ doing it for others.
RaceTech gold valve emulators for your forks if you stay with original forks are recommended.
likely your fork springs are toast and need replaced. Most were needing replacement with 12-15k miles max.
You can skim the center of your fron hub's raised cooling ribs as the front does not need that and a cut and polished hub center is very nice. Waxing the back of the fork ears helps keep rust at bay and wax on chrome will make it easier to wash and clean and maintain the shine.
