I highly recommend it! Much more crisp and not nearly as much flailing of the elbow. LOL
You can do it several ways but the easiest and fastest is this way.
Pull the lever out.
Take it to the bench grinder and start grinding way at the area just below the threaded section. Take your time and do a decent job of reducing the diameter to something just short of the diameter of the threaded section.
When you think that you are close start a die down the threaded section and begin to cut new threads on the part that you have ground down. Take it easy and work the die on and off a little at a time. Take the lever back to the grinder if you meet great resistance and work the diameter down a little more.
The NEW section should be about 1.75 to 2.0 inches long.
When you have finished and have the die run all of the way to the bottom of the new section, chuck the lever up in a vise and use a hack saw to whack off all of the old threaded section plus a little more.
Now use a flat file to smooth out the end where the threads are sharp and follow that by unwinding the die off of the lever.
Now fit a new jamb nut onto the threaded section and install your gear knob for a test fit.
Upon re-installation you will of course need to remove said nut and knob, and don't forget to lube both the small ball end of the lever and the big fulcrum ball. Be sure to use the OEM spring washers under their shouldered cap screws, and what ever you do, don't drop the little plastic collar down into the top of the cross member. If you do you will play heck trying to fish it out! LOL
Everyone to his or her own taste here, but the combination of a lever so shortened AND the smaller LE 14" wheel is very tasty to me.
Jack