Disclaimer: I am a nervous nelly about my maintenance....has to be dang near perfect.

Changed the oil yesterday. All went well. But I was wondering......is it normal for a little oil to seep past the plate's gasket until it has a good seal?
I always under tighten bolts as a habit. After my morning commute, I noticed a tiny bit of oil seeping (not dripping) around the plate.

Seems like the same thing happened last time I did an oil change, but the oil stopped seeping after a few rides.

BTW... I am not a big believer in torque wrenches. I have worked on my own cars for over 20 years (all maintenance except rebuilds and welding) and learrned the art of "feeling it" with wrenches.

Did you use a new gasket? If not, may be worth picking one up. The folks at another ninja forum are pretty anal about torquing that bolt to exactly 14.5 ft/lbs because it's pretty easy to overtighten it. But if you're sure you didn't overtighten it, and you did use a new gasket, then I'd just monitor it for the next few days to see if there is any continued leak or if it was just in the beginning.

The Fram filters that I use include both new gaskets with the filter.
I also coated the gaskets with oil to help seal. If anything, it may be too loose. It is not even close to as tight as it was when Kawasaki put it on. I had to break a little sweat to get it off the first time!

I tightened the thing up a smidge more and am good to go.
Obviously I overthink things at times.

It will feel very tight when you unscrew the filter initially. The reason is that the engine is hot. I generally let the oil drain overnight, replace the filter and o ring (make sure the o ring is wet with oil,) and torque to 14.5 foot pounds. I change oil every 2500mi.