Is it possible to make a weapon like a pike that can hit from a longer distance than a lightsaber?
I tried changing the weapon length in the odf but it doesn't seem to make a difference. Would changing something in the model like a hardpoint do the trick?

The length value in the .odf just defines how long the texture for the lightsaber effect is.
The length (and width) of the (invisible) edge that does the damage can be changed in the weapon's .combo file, for each attack individualy.
The hardpoint is the point where these 2 things grow out.
You can simulate almost every kind of melee weapon.