How difficult is it to turn an engine by hand?

I'll check to see how much torque it takes tonight. The engine has just under 11:1 compression so it's pretty high, that would make it harder I would assume.

All the caps torqued down nicely and were put on the right way so there shouldn't be an issue there.

Without spark plugs the compression shouldn't matter. Compression comes into play with the spark plugs installed.

It's the drag/resistance due to the rings and bearing clearances/lubrication that you feel when trying to spin the crank.

If the clearances are right, there it should be tight to turn. If it feels too loose, then you may have too much clearance in the bearings (rod & crank) or maybe the piston to the cylinder walls.

If those check out ok, then good for you. You have a nice free spinning engine and it should put out more power as it is not using up as much to overcome the friction of the parts moving against each other (lower friction horsepower). If all of your clearances are right, then the easier it turns, the better....