YOU SOUND LIKE YOU HAVE SOME COMMON SENSE AND ARE FAMILAR WITH BIKES, SO I DON´T SEE WHY YOU WOULD HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A 600, AS LONG AS YOU ARE CAREFUL. THE FIRST BIKE I OWNED WAS A 98 KAWAI ZX6R, BUT I WAS 27 WHEN I GOT IT. BEING THAT YOU ARE ONLY 17, INSUSRANCE RATES PROBABLY WILL NOT BE CHEAP FOR YOU ON A SPORT BIKE.OTHER THAN THAT I DON´T SEE A PROBLEM WITH IT. AS FAR AS A CROSS COUNTRY TRIP, YOU PROBABLY WONT GO BUT A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES A DAY BEFORE GETTING UNCOMFARTABLE ON A SPORT BIKE, BUT WHO KNOWS, YOU ARE YOUNG, YOU CAN PROBABLY HANDLE IT