Oil Filter - to torque or not to torque, that's the question

Worst case scenario if you hand tighten: Catastrophic oil leak, coats your back tire with oil, you lose control and potentially die
Worst case scenario if you torque too much: Screwdriver method to pull the filter off. Maybe you strip the threads if you go way overboard. I've never even heard of this but I guess it's possible. 0 chance of death.

Hmmmmm.

It's pretty simple. If you hand torque the filter, you got a chance of it coming loose. The results are CATASTROPHIC and can result in your death.

Hand tighten it, but use a wrench/strap/or whatever to give it a last little umph. Especially on a bike like this where the filter is fairly accessible and can be pulled out with various methods if it's too tight.

It's a no brainer. Not sure why this gets debated. The pros vs cons is basically death vs time and possible aggravation.

I've always hand-tighten oil filters, and never an issue after several decades of doing that on both bikes and cars (I've always done my own maintenance). Having said that, I have a strong grip, and I know it's tightened properly, since it's always hard to remove them, even with a filter tool. But I can do it without destroying the filter, like I always end up doing with factory installed filters. Finally, for folks who have never done it by hand, or have a weak grip, I suggest torquing to factory spec.

As a side note, I've always done drain plugs by hand too... until my vehicles started having belly pans, meaning you can't check drain plugs for leaks without removing everything again. So now I torque them to spec, so I can button everything up while on the ramps... but up to 25 ft/lbs max (Porsche calls for 37, by the way). The FZ calls for 17, which is the absolute minimum I'd use, but since it's visible and easily checked, I used that on the first/last oil change (with a magnetic drain plug), and no leaks so far.