Am i going to have to take the tires off to adjust the rear suspension?

 

Nope

 

Please explain how to then. I have tried many times to stiffen my sportsmans rear up a little and I can't seem to do find a/the way to do it. I have the tool you are supposed to use and I just can't get the dial on the shock to turn. Help please!

 

Get a large pair of channellock pliers thats what I use. The spanner wrench did not work at all.

 

same with me. one side seem impossible to get to without taking the tires off. I can get to the other but barely, not sure how i would be able to squeeze much else in there any bigger than the wrench that come with it, yeah it does suck the spanner wrench.

 

Don't forget to use the extension (snipe) supplied in your tool kit. It is a little tight to get the wrench on but it is possible.
Are you aware that when you adjust the rear suspension you are NOT stiffening the ride, what you are doing is raising the quad a little? Technically it is called pre-load. To stiffen the suspension the spring rate must be changed and the only way to do that is to upgrade to the heavy-duty springs.
When I did mine I removed the wheels as it only takes a couple of minutes and it does make it a lot easier to get at.
Hope this helps.

 

Just simply slip the sparkplug socket supplied with the tool kit over the spanner wrench handle, this will give you the leverage needed to turn it.

 

I had to adjust the back of my Xplorer too i ride double allot and carry lots of supplies it made it so it did not sag as much when both of us were on it. I guess basically what it is doing is adjusting the preload making the suspension require more weight to get it to start moving.

 

The easiest way is to remove the tires, and leave it jacked up so no weight is on the springs. It will give you a little more ground clearance, and it does make the ride a little stiffer.

 

I disagree with you, Dave. By increasing the preload (compressing the spring), you in fact are stiffening the ride. Say the spring rate is 50 lbs/inch, when you compress the spring by an extra inch, you're increasing the force the spring is exerting on the upper and lower shock mounts by 50 lbs/side. Therefore, the ride does become stiffer. The end effect of increasing the preload is that it does make the bike sit higher and the ride is stiffer.