Factorization into \(k\)-dimensional linear bijections (Q1312321)

Let \(G\) be a group and \(S\) a subset of \(G\) such that \(s \in S\) implies \(s^{-1} \in S\). The length of \(\pi\) in \(\langle S\rangle\) is the smallest integer \(t\) such that \(\pi\) is a product of \(t\) elements in \(S\). The author considers the general linear group \(G\) of a vector space \(V\) over a skewfield and the set \(S\) consisting of all elements \(\varphi\) in \(G\) such that \(\dim V(\varphi - 1) = k\) for some fixed \(k\). He shows that every \(\pi\) in \(G\) with finite \(m = \dim V(\pi - 1)\) has length 2 if \(m < k\); it has length \(r\), where \(r\) is the smallest integer \(r\) such that \(m \leq rk\), if \(k \leq m\).