It seems you are doing with motorcycles what you disdain of others in terms of cables. Chrome and whitewalls add zero functionality, advantage to riding (unless you wish to make an argument that whitewalls add to safety features, but somehow I doubt that the reason for purchase). :(
I point this out because you seem to disdain people for their selections which can't be justified in engineering terms. Yet, none of us is perfectly consistent in the matter. I happen to be a rider, too, and I find it not justifiable to spend obnoxious amounts on a cycle. I have a Kawasaki Versys 650 and a Yamaha Stryker, which is about half the cost of a comparable Harley and about twice as reliable, imo. I wouldn't dream of spending more for a bike in which you get "nothing" of added value. Very poor performance to value outliers are seen in custom choppers, and some of them as you know are wretched rides. Is there any conceivable justification for ownership? Not in my opinion; it's just money blown foolishly for a brand affiliation or attention.
Now, that's MY perspective; yours is obviously different. And that's ok. Perhaps you can see that this can apply also to cables. There is a highly variable range of performance, bling and price for all consumer items, and people fall into a wide distribution on purchases.
FYI, I review and have worked with dozens of sets of cables, and let's just say that experience changes one's perception on the value that cables bring to systems. I suppose that if I had much more experience, say trying fifteen other bikes, I may have a different set of expectations and criteria for what constitutes a good value/performance/price equation for motorcycles. :)