The best low cost way of upgrading your front shocks is the Baja Ron spring helpers, they will stiffen up the front end. A Ron sway bar will help the bike in corners and in cross winds and alike. The sway bar upgrade is pretty universally well regarded as an big improvement to the bike's handling. If you want to spend more, then either Fox shocks or Elkas are good way to help the front end all the way around.
As to tires, the Vrd. or the Federal Formoza are probably the two most popular choices. I haven't tried the Vrd. tires, but I do have a lot of miles on the Federals. I ordinarily wouldn't recommend a Federal tire because of they're a low end Chinese brand of tire. However, they just plain work and work really well on Spyders, and as a bonus, they come in the exact size needed.