MC-54-250 Overheating

[damorg5623]

I'm sorry if I am doing this wrong, I don't go to many, if any forums, so I couldn't figure out how to ask a question regarding this overheating problem, nor could I figure out how to post a comment.
Anyway, I have a 2011 MC-54 250cc. Scooter. I got it almost a year ago. It has just over 2,000 miles on it. I was afraid to change the coolant/anti-freeze, because of what I had heard about burping the cooling system. I checked the freeze level and it was at -45 so I left it alone. I did however, replace ALL of the other fluids as suggested.
I rode thru the entire Fall, Winter, and most of this Spring without any problems at all.
3 weeks ago my Scooter overheated at a red light. To make a long story short, I found that the insullation to the top connector that goes to the temperature sensing switch, which screws in to the bottom of my radiator, had been melted by one of the radiator hoses which runs across it and had been resting on top of it. This allowed the connector to get hot, melting the insulation, and the sensing switch got shorted out by the metal springy thing which runs the entire length of the radiator hose, which in turn kept the cooling fan from turning on. I was able to repair this with little trouble, and everything was fine for the last 3 weeks.
This morning, after riding approx. 10 miles or so, I was headed toward home when I noticed the temp. gauge had jumped up to the HOT mark again. This went back down to about half way whenever I throttled up and drove. But when I stopped at a red light for example, it would jump back up to HOT again. Then when I took off, it would go back to about half way again. It never did go back to normal until I got home and turned off the scooter. I'm guessing that my Thermostat is getting stuck?
I really have NO idea.
Could someone PLEASE HELP me with any advice that you may have. I have already read the other posts on this subject, and I am going to remove the original coolant, and flush the system tomorrow morning. I'm not sure where the thermostat is loctaed or how hard it is to get to it.
If someone could PLEASE tell me where it is, and how to get to it, that would be a Really BIG help.
Oh, also... I should be able to ride without a thermostat installed right?
Thanks Very Much !