Is it just a reduced length stick?
Actually the stick is the same length as the old one, the clever bit is that the pivot point is moved further up the shaft away from the forked bit that works the selector.
The result is that you need to move the knob a much shorter distance in order to select the next gear. The downside is that the effort required is greater, so it can be a bit baulky if you don't match revs correctly.
If you wanted to shorten the lever as well, it shouldn't be a problem, the shaft isn't stainless steel so it should be pretty straightforward to run a die a bit further down and cut the top bit off.
