Joking aside, isn't it worth checking the bearings and re-packing them with grease? There's only a limited number of moving parts that'll cause vibration and one ball bearing that's out of true or has a compromised surface can cause all sorts of rumblings. And not get any worse (necessarily) over time.
Gaz
the difficulty is that we can't feel what Scott feels from the pedals, not from his saddle. The vibrations are not obvious enough. Scott described it as something that feels graunchy in the pedals. Like a bad ball bearing. That's why his first suspicion was on the bottom bracket, then when he removed the chain, he can't feel anything graunchy there. So the vibration travels up, through the chain.
I did ask him whether the motor was on or off, he said the motor was on, adding one more variable into the equation.
@ ScottA
Scott, can you do this experiment?
1. try to get the vibrations to come up. Note the gear number and current speed and location. That way, we can try to recreate the conditions.
2. Blip the brakes to cut off the motor while continuing to pedal. Does the vibration cease?
3. try to get the vibrations to come up again. This time, stop pedaling.
Does the vibration cease?
4. try to get the vibrations to come up again. This time, change gear. Does the vibration cease?
5. Turn the preload lever on the left fork about 45 degrees anti-clockwise to reduce the preload (make the fork goes softer) and try to get the vibrations to come up again. Does the vibration cease?
I also wonder if it is linked to the legal speed limiter. When you get around the speed limit (15.5mph), the motor can start and stop, causing that sort of sensation.