First and foremost, you should really do some serious reflection/self-evaluation of yourself in terms of your awareness, recklessness, maturity and responsibility. Owning a motorcycle as a 17 year old could be perfectly fine if you are responsible, safe and relatively mature for your age. It could also be a complete disaster if you are lacking some of those qualities. Street riding is inherently dangerous because of all the other people on the road who are 100% out of your control, and there is very little room for being stupid, immature or reckless without getting into serious trouble (i.e. the police) or seriously injured. Be honest with yourself. While I was not really a hooligan at 17, I don't really think a bike would have been right for me at that age simply due to my maturity and understanding of what it takes to ride. I didn't appreciate the realty of the danger and the consequences that a mistake or accident could have on my life. I am not going to make any determinations about you as a person, that is for you alone to consider. It is, however, an extremely important variable in this decision.
If you are still living at home and are under 18 you should talk to your parents about it first. I wanted to get a bike in college but my parents were extremely against it. Decided to wait until after graduation since my parents were paying my rent and tuition in undergrad, it felt really disrespectful to go against their wishes when they were supporting me financially. We ended up compromising the summer after my senior year on a Grom, which was my first bike. They were cool with it since its little, a great learning platform and super easy to ride around town. I'm in law school now paying my own tuition and bills so I went ahead and got the R3. Parents still don't agree, but they respect my decision a lot more since I respected their decision a few years before and didn't go behind their back. Being honest and open will always be the best course of action.
If your parents are OK with it then you should sign up for the MSF safety course. You will learn the basics and also learn if you even enjoy riding to begin with. Once you pass the course and get your license, its time to figure out a budget. You'll want at least $500 for gear (jacket, helmet, and gloves at a minimum, some sort of boots or riding pants next if you want), and at your age, probably about $500 at least for insurance. Could be less if you are on your parents' insurance plan, though.
As far as the R3 goes, its a fantastic starter bike. If I was a junior in high school though, I'd have been happy with any motorcycle. I'm not sure what your budget is but a brand new R3 will run you at least $5000 for a 2015 model, and that would be a good price - a 2016 will be more. You can probably find a good condition, used CBR 250/300 or Ninja 300 for around $3000. I'm not sure what your budget is or what sort of income you have (i.e. if you work part-time during school or full-time during the summer or something) but I am guessing that saving some money on the purchase will be most welcome. Not only will you still get a good starter bike and save some serious cash, you also won't feel as bad dropping your used bike vs. your new one. I've only gone down one time, and seeing my right side fairing scratched to **** made me extremely sad. If it was a used bike that I didn't care as much about keeping perfect I would have felt a lot better.
Anyways, there is no reason you can't get a motorcycle right now as long as you do it responsibly. Talk to your parents, take a safety class, get the license, and then figure out a budget. If you want to spend more money, go with the R3. IMO its the best in this class. If you want to save $1-2k, pick up a used Ninja 300. It will perform just as well but you save cash that you can spend on gear and insurance.
If your parents are 100% against a motorcycle, see if you can talk them into a scooter. Honestly, I'd have been happy with anything on two wheels at your age. If you can get them to agree to a scooter, then you should look into the Grom!! You can get them used for $2-3k, and they are a great intermediary between scooter and motorcycle. Perfect for around town, which is prob the riding you will do, lots of cheap, easy and fun mods, and definitely a good compromise if your parents are against riding like mine were.
