shocking luck with shocks

I use EMGO shocks with Öhlins stickers on them.

Ikons seem the way to go as you can rebuild them if seals or bushes fail.

You'll need to dig deep in your pockets tho, but worth it imho.

I fitted Girling Shocks to my Mklll last year and whilst I've only covered 2k miles since they have been excellent. They were nowhere near as expensive as Ikon or Hagon Shocks at around £160 for a pair. I don't know if they perform as well as Ikons but there certainly a match for Hagon Shocks.

..another example of a once-trusted brand name now just stuck on foreign made stuff, much in the way of Lucas, Wassell etc? 

Try NJB shocks, as i have fitted these to my own 1970 Commando Roadster, and i have them on one of my Nomads. After your experience with the Hagon shocks i am going to change my Hagon shocks on my other Nomad to NJB. These shocks are made by an ex Girling development engineer and they are based on a Girling prototype design. I have NJB shocks on some of my other bikes. 

Fully agree with Anthony above.  I have used NJB shocks on several bikes including my Norton and found them to be excellent and at a really good price.

I wasn't impressed with Hagon, Rock Shocks or NJB shocks - But Ive found Falcon to be much better. 
Dan

I got 47,650 miles in 26 years out of my Hagon shocks on the Commando. Replaced them in September 2021 with new Hagons after one had started to leak. The new set failed three years later after just 4,000 miles. I sent these back to Hagon to assess. They said the cause of failure was "gas past the piston". They sent me a new set for free. These have now done just over 1,000 miles and so far so good. No mention was made of a "rogue batch" and I 'll be on the lookout for any issue. The Hagon people were helpful and cooperative at all times. They suggested that it might be a good idea to not leave the bike on its centre stand for long periods. So over winter I now roll it off the stand from time to time and have a bounce - for better or worse I don't know. Glad, Alec, that you made the initial post.

Ikons for me, you get what you pay for. Had to put a set of seals in after 40,000 miles, chrome is a good as new. Expensive to buy yes but worth it in the long run.

Whatever you use, fit full shrouds i.e. both top & bottom covers, to keep the salt and pigeon droppings away from the seals.

Doug Richardson used to make high quality made-to-measure one-piece stainless shrouds before getting into rim manufacture - does anyone still offer this service?

I'm a fan of Konis/Ikons - anyone tried replacing the seals themselves?

Stripped some old Konis, the seals had started to dissolve in the oil, took the seals to the local bearing shop and they made some new ones  Cleaned everything and all worked perfectly
Laurence

I can recommend Ikon shock absorbers, mine are still fine after at least 20 years and they work very well when ridden solo or with a passenger and luggage.  I wouldn't bother with Hagon, they seem to set the spring rate incorrectly; too hard when solo and too soft when carrying a passenger.  NJB shock absorbers seem to be very suitable on my 1959 ES2; I bought them only because Ikon do not manufacture a set for the Featherbed-frame models. As mentioned above, Ikon sets are expensive so it depends upon how long you intend to keep the machine and also how often you ride it.