Thanks Bingee! I actually started sanding on my eBay set and greased everything up, works better. Then I went to the local dealer and played with an OEM set, feels similar - I wouldn’t doubt HD buys from the same offshore company. Now if I can figure out the lock cable and buy OEM locks. Seems like when they crimp the ends on th cable they should be at 90degrees to each other. Maybe I’m expecting too much for a simple push pull cable.

 

Yes, the cable ends are usually off about 45-90 degrees. So there's some twisting needed to get them attached. But once attached to the OEM locks they seem to work ok with the help of those little torsion springs. Note: On some Aftmkt sets you have to enlarge the cable end hole to fit onto the OEM lock shafts. Hope it works for you.