I never had a problem locating the choke lever when mine was down there.
Thanks to some spare parts, I converted mine to a handlebar mounted lever many years ago.
With my rebuild, I am eliminating the choke cables all together.
Instead, I will use a couple of stiff wires with small loops in the ends. The straight ends fasten in the choke cable clamps, and the wires stick up through the old adjusters.
Pull them up to start, push down as it warms up. I've been told a properly tuned engine will only need one side "choked" to start!