Here’s a pic pre-tape, when we first brought it home.
I’ve been able to take off that little black plastic cap that should be covering a large screw that connects the suicide lever to the main brake lever, only to find underneath was a flat surface (same as you can see on the outside of the brakes, the little circle). I didn’t want to mess around with it and remove it... but it does make me wonder how I would remove and reinstall it once hoods are put on.
I would go to another style of lever. Very easy to change with the bars unwrapped. Loosen the brake cables. Disengage the cable from the lever. Loosen the lever retaining screw. Remove from bars. Reinstall new levers. The Shimanos posted above look nice. I'm happy with good old DiaCompe levers.