Tried to set the spring tension up on the Hawkeye with the tool, but damn, there seems to be a lot of pressure on the adjuster. Couldn't get one click on it. Tried it on the ground and jacked up.

Does anything need to be taken off?

If you know or have done it, step by step please.

 

We tried that useless tool on a Sports man, we ended up using the largest channel locks we have to turn them.

 

i had the same issue w/ my 06' 800 as it was murder to adjust them. taking the weight off the wheels does help but its still bear to do. i thought about unhooking the sway bar on the wifes 400 to see if it rides anys better. mongrol, does your 400 ride any softer now that you have some miles on it or is it just as stiff as it was new. wife only weighs about 135 lbs so it will ride a little stiff i think.

 

i agree, those are tough to turn... the way my spanner wrench fits on there i have little room to work.. i was thinking about using a pipe for some leverage to turn them but the suspension seems good enought to me... im sure whenever i get around to putting on some bigger tires i will "jack" it up [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Pipe wrench will work also.

 

I was able to turn it on the left side but had to use a pipe slid over the wrench. When I went to do the right side I couldnt get it to budge, it was hard to get a good bite with the wrench, I even took the tire off. I also tried jacking it up but I dont know if it made a difference or not, I still never got the right one cranked up, although I didn't try very long. Good Luck I'm sure after a few drops of blood, sweat and tears you'll get it.

 

I think I took off the wheel on one side and unhooked sway bar to get some room to work on one side.this gave me some room for leverage.got the front and rear left done.rear right(looking from the back) was hard and angled a car jack to compress the spring slightly.it wasn't easy took about 2 hours but i managed to set the shocks in the middle.GREAT ADJUSTMENT to do,makes a big difference to the ride .much tighter ride.would like to feel it as tight as it could be but i think half is perfect for now.

also there is a mac strut spring compresser you can buy that would make this job really easy.


Drake2

 

I bent the chinsy tool kit wrench trying to adjust the shocks on my Sawtooth. I can't imagine trying to do the same thing on the Hawkeye. It was sooper stiff on the softest setting. Taking the sway bar off made it a lot nicer, but also introduced quite a bit of sway/lean when cornering.

Too bad Polaris didn't put a softer set of shocks on the Hawkeye.

 

so, does this help it be looser and easier to do donuts, burnouts, etc.? and slide in the turns? and did you make the spring harder or softer?

 

Stendori, the ride on the 400 is actually softer than the Hawkeye now. I'm 200 lbs and wouldn't change a thing on it. It may be a bit stiff for wifey, but maybe not. The extra 100 lbs over the Hawkeye gives the Cadillac ride I think. Anyway, when your snow is gone, the more you ride the 400, the more impressed you'll be all around.