Glad you posted this... I need to change mine this weekend too.
I too questioned the manual's suggestion to heat the unit in a vat of oil. The only reason I could think of for doing that would be if you intended to re-use the seal... although why anyone would try to reuse any seal is beyond me. My plan is to drive a screw into the seal, then grab the screw with pliers to try to pull/pry it out -- unless someone has a reason that I shouldn't. (I welcome any suggestions.)
I just had to replace the rear main seal in my Volvo. When I received the seal for the Connie, I was amazed at how similar the two seals were. (the Connie seal is just slightly larger). The recommendation for the Volvo was to use a piece of 4" PVC pipe and cut a slit in it to reduce the size to match the seal. (see attached pic) Since the Kaw seal is slightly larger, I'm hoping it will work without the slit and tie wraps.