I replaced my cable with a Dyneema rope. Your winch cable is held in the drum with a small allen screw. I unbraided my rope and threaded half through the drum hole and then rebraided it back together. The full thickness of the rope will not fit through the drum hole. To access the winch I removed the two bumper blocks and the lower plastic. It took about 5 minutes to get it off. That gives you pretty good access to the winch. Also, make sure that your fairlead rollers are smooth. If there are any burrs they with catch the rope and tear it.
I've switched my ATV and CFMoto over to rope. I will never go back to cable. The rope on my ATV is almost 5 years old. Its taken a beating but is still going strong. I've spooled it up wet, drug it over rocks, and generally abused it over and over. When it breaks, I'll tie a knot in it to get me unstuck. When I get home, I'll buy another off of Ebay.
It's interesting you mentioned that it doesn't melt. I tried to melt the end to prevent fraying. It would not melt. I guess the Chinese stuff off of Ebay is legit.