Negative. Unfortunately the KDX engine design requires that the seals be pressed in from inside the crank case halves. I just finished a bottom end rebuild on my 89, and it really was not all that bad. If you get into this, feel free to post up and I'll offer up the method I used for splitting the cases and removing/replacing bearings and seals and then sealing the case halves back up.
A puff of exhaust coming out around the pipe during a backfire is not unusual. I'd pull the stator cover and see if there's gas/oil mix hanging out in there. Normally the LH bearing and seal sees more abuse than the RH due to the weight of the flywheel, but if it's bad, it's safe to assume the RH side needs replacing as well.
In short, bad crank seals can cause myriad problems. The worst of it is a lean condition, while the bike will seem to be rich due to oil fouled plugs. If you try to jet it to correct the seemingly rich behavior, you can easily trash the motor.